Savage: A fierce or violent nature
by 1735 Feral66
Summary: Carrying suspense, action, love and war, and even bloodshed, a drug scandal involving a substance with the street name, "Sv2" surfaces as our two characters, Nick and Judy, show the new recruit, Miles around the city of Zootopia. But things get worse and worse after he shows up. Now with the terrifying epidemic at hand, the three have to find out who, or what, is behind all of it.
1. Chapter 1

(WRITERS THOUGHTS)

I do not own characters from Disney, or any other third party stories that may or may not be mentioned. If i do miss one, i will address it in the next chapter. Any names used within this FanFiction that are the same as a real persons, living, or dead, is purely coincidental.

(An Explanation on who "Miles Feral" is.)

*****As a kid, Miles' name was derived from my favorite sonic character, "Tails". (Be that his real name was "Miles Prower") His middle name, "Leonardo", came from the inspiration of Leon S. Kennedy; a protagonist in several Resident Evil video games. His last name, "Feral", came from myself, with his entire character being the person i have always wanted to be; Smart and cunning like Tails, a quick thinker, and physically fit like Leon, and wild and courageous like what i am told to be. I hope you enjoy this characters essence as much as i do.*****

ZOOTOPIA/MILES FERAL CROSSOVER.

Prologue.

"Just a new day." he thought, walking on a railroad track. "New plan, new place, new people. Maybe this won't be so bad…"

He shuffled his bag around on his back, carrying necessities like deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, and a few extra sets of clothes. His left hand carried a briefcase with items of sincere importance to him; that sentimental value which sparked the essence of creativity and integrity within his mind. His right hand, held onto the sling of a bag, holding a .308 rifle, carrying only 20 rounds in the magazine, plus one in the chamber.

"I'll get to introduce myself, and hopefully forget this place…" he doubtfully thought again. His feet didn't drag, but his figure along with his standing made him look tired, run down, empty within. But that wasn't the case: he just had a long way to walk. Up ahead, he saw the entrance for the train leading to the second section of the new area. "Maybe i should just lie, and not tell them who i really am…"

Originally, he was just a pup with a fondness for music and weapons, now, he was just an empty Captain. At only age 24, after working countless weeks at trying to make the city he had grown up in just a little bit better, he was deployed to a new department; the Zootopia police department. Framed for accusations he did not commit, he was given a choice to serve jail time or deploy to a new city.

He slowly took a step through the gateway, and noticed the edge of a cliff, with a drop of over 50 feet. Putting his bag and rifle down, he dusted his shirt off in the hot sun, wiped his forehead of sweat, and put his hands in his pockets, looking at the globe of life itself.

"Captain Miles Leonardo Feral, at your service." he spoke in a calm voice.

CHAPTER 1.

Muffled shots of ammunition could be heard through the ears of Nick, while Judy was having a hard time with how sensitive her sense of hearing was.

"Jeez, i need to get my hands on some ear plugs or something…" She said after Nick's test was over. The target board rolled its way back to the front, and she peeked over at his score.

"Huh, 11 out of 15…" Nick spoke in weary amazement. "You'd think i'd do worse after having a firearm for only a few weeks.

Judy tilted her head in uncertainty. "Maybe, that or you're just not a gun guy…"

He scoffed. "I am too a gun guy!" he unloaded the clip from his handgun and quickly loaded a fresh one back in. "Watch me score at least ten!"

Nick slammed the button down to send another target to the back, and once he heard the go signal, he blasted as many rounds as he could into the target without hesitation. When all rounds were empty, there was a moment of silence, and the target slid back to him, and nich feverishly looked at the score.

"Nine out of 15," Judy giggled, "how does a bb gun sound for you, Nikki?"

Nick mumbled under his breath as he holstered his firearm, and tore the target down from the clip used to hold it in place.

Suddenly, a loud buzz was heard, and a voice boomed over an intercom.

"Everyone report to the meeting room for debrief of today."

Chief Bogo's voice was so deep and loud that a lot of the trainees at the station all agreed he 'probably didn't even need one in the first place'.

When the room filled up, several regular officers walked through, with a couple of a few month old recruits walking through as well. Nick and Judy sat up front as usual, and waited for chief Bogo to announce his debriefing. He cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Hello everyone, and good morning. Today, there is nothing special going on except for the cubs' parade in downtown sahara square. Come equipped with plenty of water if you choose to supervise; the heat is going to be exceptionally hot today.

"Tundra town is going to have an issue with thievery today, several reports of burglaries and such have been reported, so keep your eyes peeled.

And finally, we have a new recruit for today."

Nick and judy's ears both perked in curiosity.

"As you all know, normally i wouldn't care, but for intents and purposes, i have to as a," he looked into his papers and read the words,

"sign of respect for a higher ranked recruit… Whatever that means. Everyone welcome our new officer, Captain Feral."

Bogo waived his hand at the door, and Miles slowly walked in, looking slightly shy, but more consistent with determination. Unenthusiastic clapping was heard from all around the room, except from the front, where Nick and Judy sat.

"Tell us where you came from, Captain." Bogo said, looking through his papers.

Noticing his reply sounded bland, Miles just spoke,

"A place you don't have to care about."

Bogo drew his eye to Miles' profile, and raised an eyebrow.

"You're smarter than you look, cadet." He pointed a hoof toward the table up front. "Take a seat next to those two." Miles nodded with a "yes sir." and took a seat opposite to nick.

Judy tried to steal a look from Miles as he was trying to get to know him a bit better. Nick however, was amazed and dumbfounded by the fact of what Miles was.

Another fox. Just like nick.

Judy bumped his shoulder while he tried to keep his cool.

"You okay?"

"He's another fox!" he whispered in tension.

"What's so wrong about that?" She asked, confused.

Before Nick could explain, Bogo began calling out positions. Team one went to the sahara square, team two went to the tundra town investigation, and team three was appointed to traffic check ups. Nick and judy nodded, but before leaving the room, Judy looked at Miles, then looked at bogo for a final answer. But instead of waiting, Judy saw an opportunity to make a new friend.

"Uh, chief?"

"Hm."

"What about our new member, Miles?"

Bogo looked up and noticed he was still sitting there with his hands in his lap, just looking ahead into the front of the room, just waiting for an order.

"I'll have a talk with him, you too get going."

"Can we have him assist us-"

"Get. Moving."

Judy stayed quiet and nodded, backing away from the room and glancing at miles, who looked back at her, and she felt frozen. Nick patted her shoulder and she snapped out of it in a trance, and walked out of the room, then down the hallway, but stopping only half way.

"What are you doing, carrots?" Nick asked.

"Ssh," Judy hissed. "I want to find out why he's being held back for a few."

She crept back to the door before the room and listened in. Nick was behind her, only wanting to stick by her side for her defense.

"Miles, come up here. I need to speak with you."

A squeak of a chair being moved, then footsteps.

In a lower voice, Bogo said,

"I didn't appreciate the comment you made earlier about where you were from…"

Miles nodded and kept eye contact, answering,

"I understand sir, and i apologize for causing any distress to you about the problem. I assure you i will not do it again."

Bogo paused, gave a look that said "i don't think i can believe you.", and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and exhaling.

"you're gonna be the preppy a-hole who believes they are gonna succeed in life, arent you?

Miles gritted his teeth and spoke a little strained from irritation. "No, sir."

Bogo nodded, then spoke. "Good, i hope you know that there is a lot more to life than just looking for a way to gain respect. It isn't all sunshine and lollipops. It takes gratitude, hard work, dedication. I'm amazed you even made it to Captain with your look of weakness and pity.

Miles began to get even more irritated. So speaking through his teeth, he said,

"Of course sir, there are circumstances i have to be willing to deal with that take those qualities."

Bogo nodded slowly, and spoke.

"Good. No i've also heard you already own a couple of firearms before joining. Is this true?"

Miles nodded. "Yes sir. A rifle and a handgun."

"What caliber is the rifle?" Bogo asked, now pulling out a registration paper, and writing.

".308."

"And the handgun?"

".357."

"Any modifications at all?"

"Nothing more than suppressors and different ammunition."

Bogo wrote all the info given to him down, and signed his authority on the bottom. He handed Miles the paper.

"There is my permission to use your weapons on the job if need be. Your squad car is there too, and your teams' names are in the paper."

Miles nodded with a 'thank you sir', and began walking out the door. But before he reached the frame, Bogo spoke, "Oh, one more thing."

Judy and Nick scattered for a second to get ready to hide.

"I expect good things to come from you, Mister Feral. I know you have what it takes to be a fine officer, and i understand things were harder for you when you were in, uh," Bogo froze, trying to look for the word.

"Raccoon city." The name stung Miles' tongue like a wasp.

"Y-yes. Just please don't-"

Miles cut Bogo off with an essence of irritation and hatred for the topic at hand.

"Sir, if i may, i assure that you can trust me 100% with any god forsaken mission you hand out to me, be it hunting down a cold-blooded killer, or parking duty." A small fire started within him. "I only ask in return that you do not, and i repeat, _DO NOT,_ Bring up where i came from, what my motives were, and what i have done in that ghost town!"

Silence filled the room, and the fire died down. Miles shook from his small outburst. Bogo had a look, but it wasn't of anger for talking back, but more of a "Well then." face. He leaned back in his seat and interlocked his hands.

"I apologize for not knowing that. But don't cut me off if you're receiving orders from your chief, understand me?"

Miles looked down in disgust with himself. "Yes, sir."

"Alright, get going. Squad three will be waiting for you in their cruiser outside." He pointed to the door, and Miles nodded, leaving the room.

Nick and judy scampered into another hallway as Miles walked down.

There was a silence as he left, and Nick perked up.

"Judy, the last thing i need is competition for my part time job selling freaking popsicles to anyone on the corner!"

Judy scoffed. "What do think he sells, if you're so sure?"

Nick stayed silent.

And in a moments notice, Judy's communication device linked to the police department, screamed a loud screech, then a electronic voice was heard.

"Judy, Miles will be a part of your squad for today-"

He stopped speaking while Nick frantically attempted to shut off the volume, but around the corner, Bogo looked at them with an irritated look, and quietly spoke,

"Get. Going."

***END of this segment. Thank you for taking the time to read my little story brewing in my imagination, i really hope you enjoyed it, and i will do my best to post at the minimum, bi-weekly. If you have any questions regarding the characters' motives, backstory, or you just want to learn everything about them, email me at nightmarze6.66 ***


	2. Chapter 2

(AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS)

****I guess i was a bit more motivated to start a second chapter lol, hope you enjoy.****

CHAPTER 2:

The car ride was silent. At first, Nick wanted to sit in the back so he could attempt to talk to Miles without making eye contact, but judy insisted that they let Miles pick the seat he wanted. He chose to sit in the back seat behind driver side. And for the whole time they drove between different districts, all around Zootopia, not a single word was spoken for a whole hour. Mainly because it was extremely difficult to stat up a conversation with the fact in hand about how a lot of connections had included his past. But Miles felt the awkwardness within the vehicle as well, he just chose to ignore it by staring out the window, taking mental notes of the various landmarks around Zootopia. Attempting to break the ice, Judy spoke up.

"So… What do you think of the chief, huh? Big macho man trying to hustle everyone, even though he's probably a big softie." Judy chuckled at her own comment, but Nick gave her a look of "What was that supposed to be?" All Miles did was look toward the front of the car, and look back out the window.

It was never easy for Judy to first break ground, but at least she attempted. Nick cleared his throat, and looked back at Miles, asking,

"So what's your story, tough guy? You've been quiet this whole trip."

"Nick!" Judy blared.

"What? i'm only trying to make friend with a friendly, socially awkward _fox_ like myself!"

"Will you stop it?!" She exclaimed.

A few seconds of silence, then Miles actually spoke.

"Guess that's a locals' way of breaking the ice... "

Judy spoke up. "I'm terribly sorry about him," She looked into the rear view mirror. "I don't know what has gotten into him."

Miles looked back and answered.

"It's absolutely fine, it's rude of me to not speak to fellow officers anyway."

More silence, and at this point, Miles just got sick of it.

"Look, i don't mean to come off as a tough guy, and i really hope you guys don't think of me as just a drone who will do what he's always told, but i just have a few things i need to clear out of my head, that's all."

Nick and Judy looked at each other, slightly worried. Miles looked back out the window and spoke again, with his fist resting against his cheek.

"I came from Raccoon city, leaving from a broken family and a lot of hatred. So if you feel like you have to ask, now is probably the time."

They stayed silent out of respect.

"If respect is what you're trying to earn, you have plenty of it already."

Miles practically read their minds.

"But enough about me, what about you sergeant Wilde?"

Nick felt surprised but kept his cool and answered firmly.

"I grew up believing somebody was always ready to take me down, so i kinda just cheated my way through life, living off the streets and making about three hundred a day."

"What did you do for a living?" Miles asked.

"I bought jumbo pops for elephants, melted 'em down and then, sold them back…"

Nick slumped down a bit feeling ashamed, but Miles grinned.

"You cheated the system. That's a good skill to have if you're careful."

Judy scoffed at his answer, and Miles noticed. His grin died down, and he asked,

"If you're thinking all foxes are the same Lieutenant Hopps, you're probably right."

Nick chuckled at his remark and Judy widened her eyes at his ability to predict what others are thinking.

"What are you, a mind reader?" She smiled. "I came from bunny burrows as a carrot farmer. Came here wanting to be a police officer with everyone shooting me down because i was a bunny, but i persevered."

Miles smiled. "Weren't you and Nick the ones who stopped the drug scandal happening?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah that was the 'night howler' serum scandal, with everyone turning savage."

"I heard about that. In fact, i think that was the reason why i got framed…"

Judy questioned. "Framed? What happened-"

A very loud scream was heard from down the road, and everyone looked ahead to see someone running with a cat's purse into the subway. She screamed for help as Judy, Nick, and Miles all sprang into action.

"What's the problem ma'am?!" Judy asked in freight.

"A wolf just ran into the subway with my purse!" She screamed in horror.

Judy nodded at Nick and Miles to go and chase the robber, And they both bolted, running down the steps.

A train could be heard just leaving the station, and Nick called out the person running.

"There he is!" They sprinted after him, slowly catching up to him to the other side of the sub way, but instead of taking the opposite exit, he ran onto the empty tracks, with almost no fear of getting hit whatsoever. Miles followed immediately, and Nick lagged behind a little more because of the fear of getting hit.

"Get down on the ground!" Miles barked at the thief, but he wouldn't stop.

A utility room could be seen ahead with a read light, and the thief looked like he was going toward the door. Miles threw in as much energy as he could, and Nick was now about thirty yards away. The thief quickly opened the door, slid through, and locked it, before Miles could lay a foot on the level. He attempted to break into the steel door with his shoulder, but the bearings were too strong. He looked back at Nick, who was attempting to catch his breath. Miles jiggled the handle in anger, then ran back to Nick to assist him.

"C'mon Nick, he's getting away!"

Nick nodded with sweaty fur filling up around his face and neck, but then fear kicked into Miles immediately.

The noise of tracks could be heard, and the rustling of wheels grinding on the tracks were getting louder.

Miles began rushing Nick, yelling at him to go as fast as he could, and he began running, but he tripped on the tracks, damaging his left knee and howling in pain.

"Damn!" Miles slipped out. He grabbed ahold of Nick's arm, and slung him over his shoulder into a Fireman's' carry. The strength of adrenaline rushed through his system as he jogged his way down the tunnel back to the few feet of safety of what could be a messy ending for the both of them.

The train could be seen.

Miles started to sprint, not caring how secure Nick was, only making sure he was being held onto with a death grip, and got ready to jump.

The train was only twenty yards away.

With what he had left of energy, Miles threw Nick off of his shoulders onto the platform, and he jumped behind, following Nick through the air.

Miles only landed halfway up, with his shins and tail hanging over the edge. He attempted to scamper up, but failed.

The train caught his tail, and dragged him to the other side of the platform, slicing a good amount of his tail and fur clean off. Miles froze in shock and the pain going through his spine. He roared and howled in agonizing hurt, attempting to hold onto his tail but he couldn't help it; dark red fur started to color his accent white fur, with a small puddle now beginning to form beneath him. He attempted to grab the end of what he had left of a tail, and stop the blood from flowing. Through gritted teeth, he growled at Nick.

"Get up Nick! Help me with my tail!"

Nick quickly realised what had happened after getting up, and h hobbled his way over to Mils, trying to help stop it. Nick pulled a wire cutter tool from his utility belt, and opened a blade up.

"Here!" He cut a piece of his shirt off, and tried to wrap the end, but Miles howled in pain again. Their walkie-talkies blared a receiving noise, and Judy could be heard on the other end of the line.

"Nick, Miles, are either of you there?! Where are you, it's like you disappeared into the tunnel!"

Miles used a blood soaked hand to answer, and spoke in pain,

"Yeah, come help us bash the door down, and bring bandages too!"

A few minutes of throbbing pain, and a weary look on Miles face, Nick attempted to keep him awake. Judy came jogging down the tracks, and saw the scenario they were both in, an injured knee and a broken tail. She gasped at the sight of blood Miles had lost.

"Oh my god, what happened?!" She had exclaimed.

Nick explained the chase, him tripping and hurting his knee, and Miles losing a part of his tail. She immediately had Miles lean over so she could properly bandage it, and checked Nick's knee for any damage.

"Give me your wire cutters…" Miles mumbled.

Nick hesitated, but then obeyed, letting Miles palm it with ease.

In a moments notice, he quickly flipped the needle-nosed side of the tool on the back side of his hand, and stabbed it into the slot between the door, and the doorframe. Pulling it toward himself, he attempted to jam the lock and break the tumblers within, having the door handle break for easy entrance.

"Let's get this bastard." He pulled out his taser, ready to strike once he pulled the door out of the way.

"Miles it's okay, we know where he's hiding, we can come back-"

He threw the door open and aimed at the thief cowering in the corner with a knife in his hand. Almost immediately, he pulled the trigger and stunned him, with screams of pain and shock sent all around the tiny room. Judy jumped to the thief, pulling the knife out of his hand, and attempted to detain him using handcuffs. Nick hobble over to the other corner of the small room where the purse was. And after a few moments of quick actions, they realised that they were just in a shelter. Something to help a homeless animal get by day by day. There was a makeshift bed composed of several blankets and newspaper, there was a table with stacked t.v. dinner trays, there was even a radio on a small shelf, quietly playing classical music for ambiance. Miles calmly listened to the music as the thief was being stood up by judy.

"Who would want to get their ass kicked to 'The end of the world'?" Miles joked, pointing a thumb to the radio.

Judy rolled her eyes and spoke.

"Come on, we need to get you two to a hospital."

Nick nodded, but he took another step and the failed knee he had completely gave out, sending him to the ground. Miles quickly walked over to him to assist, and he slung his arm over his shoulder, helping him walk. They walked back through the tracks, feeling a little bit safer, knowing that the train wouldn't come back for another hour. When they finally made it out of the stairs, with Nicks knee now swelling up, and Miles cloth soaked, another squad car drove up, with its lights flashing bright red and blue. Judy took the thief to the back of the squad car, and Miles walked Nick to the other side of the street, where the other car was. The driver called into his receiver, now noticing a trail of blood following Miles.

"Somebody get an ambulance, we have two injured!"

"I'm not inured!" Miles said in annoyance. "Nick is, i just have to stop the bleeding."

Nick looked at Miles in confusion. "You're crazy. Get to a healthcare center. You need to get it sealed at the least."

Miles attempted to argue, but an ambulance already showed up, now having them both escorted to the back of it. Judy ran up to the back before the door closed.

"Are you guys gonna be okay?"

Nick nodded. "Just a pair of crutches at the least." They both looked at Miles.

"I'm already fine, but this guy right here insisted i get it sealed."

Nick shrugged, and Judy agreed.

It was a sad day for Judy after that. Seeing that her best friend of all time was harmed on the job, knowing that she couldn't do a thing about it. Not to mention her new squadmate, Miles, who was also a fox, was harmed even more if anything. She drove around Zootopia, trying to forget the events all together. Even if it wasn't something sincere, it was still a sight to see. Her purple eyes glistened in the afternoon sunset, she had a melancholy look to her face, and she didn't speak for the rest of the time. She didn't even have the thought of turning on the radio, just the fact of how she couldn't do a thing about it.

Her phone rang at about 8:30p.m.

Realizing it was Nick, she quickly answered the phone in anxiousness.

"Nick! Oh my god i was so worried! Are you okay? What about Miles-"

"Relax, relax carrots!" Nick eased. "I'm fine, nothing more than a fractured kneecap. I'll be in crutches for the next few weeks. Miles got patched up, and he was offered a synthetic tail for compensation."

"Did he take it?!" She asked.

"No, he said he doesn't want to have an excuse for pity." Nick explained.

Judy looked down in understanding.

"Where is he then?"

"I don't know." Nick replied. "After going and getting himself patched, he just left saying, 'see you guys at work later'."

Judy started to wonder why he left so quick. Was it because of the situation he had first day on the job? Or did he just not feel like he fit in with their group? She chose to ask one last question.

"Was he upset…?"

Nick had a flare of jealousness for a moment.

"Why does it matter? You barely know him."

Judy felt the irritation through the call.

"Sorry…"

Nick sighed for hurting her feelings.

"Sorry, i'm just tired and in a bit of pain. I'll give you a call tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright. Sleep well Nikki."

She drove to the station, dropped her cruiser off, and changed in her locker dorm, then left the building to walk home.

(AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS)

****As i have promised in the first chapter, i would mention various references to different characters, scenarios, and places in these chapters, so for an answer, yes, Raccoon city was derived from Resident Evil. But because i was writing an animal themed story, i felt it only fit and made sense, mainly because when i think of a raccoon, i think of a thief, a bandit of sorts, haha. Anyway, Miles had come from a city of sorts, full of thieves, robbers and muggers, so there's a small bit of info for you on where Miles grew up. Stay tuned for next chapter. Chances are ill have another done by the next day lol.


	3. Chapter 3

(AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS)

*****Damn, guess the idea of writing a story where anything can happen is more addicting than i thought haha. Anyway, i want to try something new for those who enjoy the story. When i write a new chapter, i usually listen to music. And more often than not, the music really fits in with the mood or tone of the story (To me, at least.). So i have two songs in mind for these segments, but they will have a signal within the chapter, so look carefully. If you see the signal a second time, you can stop it. Here are the keys:

*= Five Finger Death Punch; The wrong side of Heaven.

^= Avenged Sevenfold; Seize the day.

I'm not forcing it upon anyone, so don't freak. Enjoy the story, though.*****

CHAPTER 3:

A light mist grew over the downtown area of Zootopia around 3:00 A.M., right near the house Judy lived in. She was out cold, but her super sensitive hearing was usually the reason for her insomnia. Somehow though, she always got up on time, looking like she had a full nine hours minimum, and always had the natural amount of energy her body could permit. The mist was combined with a weak shower of droplets giving a quiet "patter" noise all over the roof, and the moonlight shined through her bedroom window, casting a shadow over the lower half of her bed.

She woke up to a disgruntled noise outside, with blows landing, and grunts of pain. Jumping out of bed in the quickest and quietest manor, she threw a night gown over her pajamas and rushed to the front window, *seeing two larger attackers battering down on a victim covered by a hoodie. The victim had their arms locked behind their back by the first thug, while the other was throwing punches to his chest and gut.

"Stop right there!" Judy called out, pointing her loaded handgun at the attackers.

Quickly running from fear, they dropped the victim and ran. Judy quickly ran to the almost motionless animal on the ground, now coughing really hard.

"Oh god, sir, are you okay?!" Judy tried to help the now revealed fox up, but he refused, continuously coughing, and replied in a low voice, "I'm fine."

But Judy was persistent, and continuously attempted to help the fox, finally, he stopped, and Judy took the hood off and revealed the face underneath.

"Miles?!" Her stomach twisted, already seeing an injured co-worker go through an even more gruesome beatdown. But Miles stood there, holding the pain in, trying to keep a straight face.

She quickly tried walking Miles in to her home, but he tried to refuse. Out of confusion and worry, she asked,

"What the hell are you doing out at this time of night?!"

He had a calm tone with a few spikes of strain from the pain.  
"I was looking for a place to sleep…"

She stopped and looked at him.

"You're kidding…"

He shook his head slowly, in shame.

She put less stress into pulling him, but grabbed his hand, and calmly walked him to the house, and spoke.

"Let's get you inside." She held back tears of sympathy for what Miles had gone through. A bad intro to the department, a broken tail, and now a beat down from a couple of thugs. Miles eased up on the tension, and allowed Judy to lead him, into shelter, warmth, a caring atmosphere, hoping for one night of peace at the most.

Sitting on the edge of a couch with his hands interlocked, staring into the glass coffee table, judy brought a warm cup of camomile, and a couple of crackers to go along. She set the two items down on the table, and sat next to Miles, while he sat still, in the same position the whole time. She kept her hands to herself, fighting the urge to rub his shoulder or hold his hand to attempt to make him feel cared for, and Miles knew it too.

"If you need, anything…"

She looked down at the ground and anywhere else in between phrases, trying to be as real as possible.

"Just tell me. Nick cares as well, and i'm sure there are others who will care for a defender of Zootopia."

Miles slowly nodded, but stayed quiet. Judy still felt like she wasn't doing well enough to convince him, but Miles reached for the small cup, and took a deep drink, allowing every essence of the herb to flow through his system. He closed his eyes as he did this, and slowly put the glass down, exhaling the warmth from the cup he consumed into the air. He then tried really hard to collect several thoughts, figure out what he needed to say, and explain how he felt.

If anything, a silence was Miles' only way of communication, but this was because he didn't want to come off as "attention needy" or a sympathy seeker. He knew he could handle his problems more often than not, but the issue was attempting to explain the situation to someone else. But for Judy's sake, he just spoke off the top of his head.

* "They attacked me because i didn't have a place to stay."

Judy frowned in worry, but gave a half smile for what she was about to propose.

"You can stay at my place. I can give you my bed and l'll stay on the couch."

Miles instantly regretted what he said.

^ "No no, it's fine. I'll go to a shelter for the night."

Judy slowly but faintly placed her hand on his, and he quickly withdrew, attempting to stand up, but his leg gave out after misstepping, causing him to fall over and knock down crackers and the cup. She covered her mouth in a slight panic, hoping he was okay. But he tried recovering by saying "I'm so sorry!".

Quickly, Judy stood up to help clean, and Miles scampered to his feet, helping as well. He sped through, but Judy stayed slow, then placed a few on the table, and softly spoke.

"Miles…"

He stopped, and looked at her with a slightly worried look.

"It's okay." She softly placed her hand on his cheek, and something clicked within Miles.

The moment she had made contact, feeling the soft, fluffy, slightly humid fur on him, it was like a backwards electroshock therapy treatment; instead of pain and remorse, he felt comfort, pleasure, happiness. All he could do was stare into her deep purple eyes as she gave a small smile, and let the caring, compassionate nature of Judy's personality flow through him like a wildfire. He felt warm; like he never wanted her to let go, because this could be his only way of communication. At this point, Miles felt like he could say anything. From witty things like how grateful he was to have met her, to his view on the world itself, and how policies should really be followed.

Judy stood up, and took the crackers and cup to the kitchen for disposing, while Miles still sat there on his knees, feeling like he was able to be controlled on her command. Once he realised that she did care, let alone only known him for a day, he stood up, and looked into the kitchen. Realising that she was tending to dishes, her back was turned to him. He stood in the living room and spoke in reassurance.

"I can sleep on the couch. You don't need to offer me your bed."

Judy looked back, and gave a smile.

"Let me get you a blanket and a pillow then."

After she finished with her dish, she went to a closet at the end of a hallway, pulled out a large blue comforter, and a pillow, and lied it down on the couch, then put her hands together, smiling as she spoke.

"The T.V. remote is on the mantle," she pointed to the opposite wall, showing a small flatscreen sitting on a separate piece of furniture. "You can watch something if you'd like before you fall asleep."

Miles actually smiled from the amount of hospitality she produced. He nodded, and said "Okay."

Judy turned to leave the room, but before she started walking up stairs, Miles spoke.

"Miss Hopps?"

She stopped and looked at him before continuing.

"Thank you. For everything you've done. I don't know how i could repay you…"

She smiled and placed a hand on her hip, then asked,

"Call me Judy then, okay?"

He nodded then answered "Yes ma'am."

As she continued up the stairs, Miles lied down, angled his tail off the bed, and connected his hands over his stomach, Smiling as the essence of camomile flowed through him, letting him sleep easier for the next few hours. ^

(AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS)

*****Huh. I figured the chapter would be slightly longer, but i guess i was wrong. Anyway, you now know the type of connection and friendship Miles and Judy will have in the future to come. Hopefully things look up from here, but if that isn't the case, then i guess that we have to wait for more bloodshed, jealousy, and pain from the three. Stay tuned for another chapter in the very near future. (Probably net few hours cuz i'm nuts lol)*****


	4. Chapter 4

***Hey, so i guess it gets more popular as the day goes by lol, I just have a request for the more frequent viewers; if you enjoy the story so far, or any of the chapters, please favorite and review. It keeps me motivated to write, along with how i can use criticism to construct my next chapter or so. But here's another chapter with some heart in it, i hope all of you viewers enjoy.***

CHAPTER 4:

Miles woke up to small noises in the kitchen. Only wearing his pants, the comforter didn't even cover him, he was warm enough like the night before, and slept with a little smile. He sat up yawning and stretching, and Judy walked into the living room, carrying blueberry pancakes and a glass of orange juice.

"Good morning." She said with a smile.

He rubbed his eyes, speaking in a drowsy manner.

"Morning."

Opening his eyes to seeing the breakfast in front of him, he looked at Judy, with her hands over her lap, smiling in courtesy.

"I brought you breakfast. Blueberry pancakes, straight from Bunny boroughs."

Miles smiled, and slowly reached for the fork, nodding.

"Thank you."

He began to eat, and Judy went back to the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes she made dirty again, but she had a question for him.

"Miles?"

He tried to finish a mouthful of pancake.

"Hmm?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with Nick and i… We can all get to know each other a whole lot better. Plus, we can all go out to eat."

Miles swallowed.

"Well, i really would love to, but i don't have any money until my first paycheck…"

She scoffed at how he was trying to be as conservative as possible for others.

"Don't worry about it, i'll have it taken care of."

Miles then drinked the full glass in one sitting.

"But i'll feel really bad if i don't pay back, and i really don't want to feel that guilt."

He stood up, stretched a second time, and looked out the window. Judy came back in, drying her hands with a rag, and stood there speechless. His figure shined within the 7:00 sunlight, the fur within his abdomen had a crisp glow while his upper chest stretched as well as he did. Miles noticed and turned away, having his back toward her as he apologized.

"Sorry! Here, i better put a shirt on."

She looked away, dividing her field of view with her palm, blushing a bright red. The bag he had on his back the night before lied by the couch, and he reached in, grabbing a stick of deodorant and a blue shirt. After getting a shirt in and freshening up, he looked at Judy, and asked.

"Better?"

She started to nod while her blush died down.

"Yeah."

There was a really awkward silence.

"Well," Judy cut in. "We should get going, get a good look around town, maybe i can show you the different recreational spots."

They left the house, and chose to walk down a long road toward Nicks van.

Nick still lived in the cramped spot on the corner with Finnick, in the Dodge Z1 van they shared since the beginning of their friendship. Even though Nick stopped cheating the system and selling popsicles, he still made the same rough amount of income as an officer of Zootopia. Finnick actually tried getting a job as a clerk at the suburban clothing store, but they turned him down for his shady looks, so he went back to selling popsicles.

"His van should be here somewhere…" Judy said.

They walked into the suburban section where the van usually resided, and saw tire tracks leading into an abandoned alley. Miles pointed down the tracks, and Judy went toward the direction.

It was a dark, wet, and steamy alley; something you'd expect from an urban, concrete jungle. They followed the tracks for about ten feet, then fifteen, twenty, all the way until two pathways were shown; an exit to the next street, or a dead end with a van parked in it. Judy immediately started walking toward the van, but Miles stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Something's not right…" he spoke.

Judy nodded and let Miles lead, but he had a slight sneak stance as he walked. He slowed his pace when he got closer to the van, and once he was an arm's length away, he looked back at Judy, curious about the situation. He reached for the door, and slowly knocked three times. _Knock, knock, knock_.

The door to the back of the van was thrown open, and Finnick was standing inside the van, holding a pistol pointed at Miles. But instinct kicked in, and Miles immediately grabbed ahold of the pistol and swung him down to the ground, twisting the loaded gun from his hands, then pointing it at him. Judy was standing back in amazement by how quick he was, then realizing it was just Finnick, she gave a sigh of irritation.

"Dammit Finnick! You scared the hell out of us!"

He looked at Judy as he put his hands up to shield his face.

"Fuck, Jude i was only tryna' protect that cripple in the van before this brotha' here clotheslined me!"

"Brother?! You pointed a .45 in my face the moment i knocked, why the hell would you call me a brother?!" Miles then looked at Judy.

"And you know this prick?!"

"He's Nicks only 'family', in a way…"

Miles tightened his grip on the gun, then loosened, stood up, and unloaded the clip, and the one in the chamber, before handing it back to Finnick.

"Safety's on, dipshit." Miles growled. "Nick, you in there?!" He called into the back of the van.

"Yeah!" Nick said as he strained himself to get up. He sat behind a small dresser, with a 17-inch flat screen opposite to him. Grabbing onto his crutches, and holding one knee up in a cast, he came to the back with a sly grin, and and asked,

"What do you guys need?"

Judy stepped in.

"I was wondering if you wanted to move that hang out plan to today. Plus we could take Miles with us and show him around." She smiled at the idea, but Nicks grin slowly faded.

Instead of trying to find a way to guilt trip Miles into being a better fox, he just chose to upset Judy and make her feel awful, all because of the fear he had of miles being the new priority.

"Nah, i'm not feeling too well, my knee is all screwed up, and, i really don't feel like dealing with competition today." He grinned again out of cockyness, but Judy began to get flustered with what Nick said. Miles heard the remark too, but instead of taking action, he tried walking back and away, staying out of the conflict.

"What are you talking about?" Judy asked.

"I'm saying, i don't want to see _him_ anymore around us, Judy. I hate the fact that you already had your mind set on him since yesterday, and you barely even know him!"

Miles felt a blow to the gut.

"Well i'm just trying to make him feel welcome! I mean, look at him! He was really quiet and lonely, and after finally convincing him overnight that me and you cared, he actually opened up!"

Nick had a look of repulsiveness.

"Wait, he stayed the night at your place?! What, did you sleep with him to help him open up?!"

Another blow. This time closer to the heart.

"How dare you, Nick!" Judy tried to hold back tears for the way he was treating her. "He was attacked for god's sake, and he doesn't even have a place to stay, of course i gave him shelter and a place to sleep!"

"Oh, bullshit, he probably made up a fake story just to gain sympathy during the car ride yesterday!"

"Well then why would he deny having a brand new tail if he said he didn't want to attract that!"

Tears flowed, and anger burned.

"Because he probably fucking tries to hide his emotions by 'being the bigger man'! Who knows, maybe he _is_ worse than me, and i'm not the bad guy anymore!"

"Well at least he wouldn't live with his partner in crime in a van on the side of a building for free electricity!"

Finnick chimed in. "Aw, you say that like it's a bad thing!"

Nick and Judy both answered.

"Shut up, Finnick!"

There was a total silence, then judy said one last thing.

"You know Wilde," she wiped a tear away. "You're a selfish piece of shit for trying to take the friendship out of it!"

"Well maybe i want to keep it away from filthy fucking raccoons like him!"

"ENOUGH!" Miles roared.

His howl of sadness and anger echoed and bounced between the two buildings, scaring birds away in the distance.

"You have absolutely no fucking right to talk about my personality like that Nick! I haven't done a thing to you, and you treat me like some beggar on the streets trying to harm you and everybody you know!"

His fists were clenched in fury, and his voice got darker and more gruff the angrier he got.

"The only difference between you and me is that we came from different families, and who knows, maybe that's why we defend the ones we love the way we do, but at least _you_ got that chance!"

He was in a power stance of sorts, and actually felt his tail flare to the point to where it began to hurt. It turns out, he got so furious, that blood flowed straight to his tail as a defense mechanism, and caused the sealed wound to break. He felt small droplets of blood leak, but he didn't care. He stood straight back up, then looked at Judy, who was now more scared than angry and teary-eyed. Miles then slowly turned around, and walked away.

"Miles!" Judy called, then she looked at nick with an irritated face.

"I hope your happy Nicholas." She wiped more tears, then ran after him, with Nick holding his arm out now in regret.

Miles walked around the corner, and continued keeping a steady pace, with a small trail of red dots following him. Judy tried to hold his shoulder, but he shrugged it away, only walking faster.

"Miles please!" Judy cried. "I'm really sorry about Nick, please don't think i see you the same way!"

"It doesn't matter. I'll just stay closed. It made more sense to not get involved in the first place. Less emotion, you know?" He spoke in a solemn tone.

Judy then slowed down, and held her hands to her face, trying to hold the tears back, but it was no use. She started to lightly sob, letting out droplets, then she began to actually cry, feeling that pain hit her like an oncoming train. Miles stopped by nature, but didn't look back. He just stood there, closed his eyes, and then turned around, seeing judy now collapse onto her knees, bawling her eyes out, living her nightmare of losing her only friends. Miles then kneeled down in front of her, but had the same empty look on his face. She had her eyes closed by her hands, trying to stop the tears from flowing, and miles even tried to help wipe them away. The weird thing was, Miles never even knew how to comfort another person, let alone a girl. His entire time in solitude as a older teen had ruined his chances of learning the social skills he lacked, but here he was, helping a girl he really trusted, try to feel better. She finally eased her sobbing, and her breathing pattern slowed down, finally calming to a few sniffles and one or two tears here and here.

"Judy…" Miles placed his large fox hand on her soft, platinum silver cheek, and looked deep into her amethyst eyes, shining like they were before, seeing the vision of himself he had. He uttered the same thing she did the night before to help him open up.

"It's okay."

She gave a small smile, then a large grin, and fell into him, giving him a very large hug. Miles felt that warmth once again, that happiness; the sensation of paradise. She continued to cry into his arms, and Miles hugged her tight, caressing the back of her head, her ears, and slowly rocking her. Miles didn't care if they were in public either, this was the least he could do to pay back Judy for all the things she's done to help her, so he slowly eased her back, and spoke softly.

"Get home, i have to go to the station."  
She sniffled. "Why?"

"Just, give me a few." He stood her up and slowly turned away, walking down the road as Judy had stopped tearing up.

The 9:00 sunset kicked in again, but this time, a dry, orange glow pasted itself along the buildings across town. Miles grabbed ahold of his rifle and the briefcase he left at his locker in the department, and went back to Judy's house, thinking of a plan. When he arrived, no lights inside were on, and he had begun to believe she wasn't home yet. He knocked before calling her name.

"Judy?" he asked. "Its me, Miles, i've got a couple things i want to show you."

He slowly opened the door, walking in with the briefcase in one hand, and his rifle bag slung over one shoulder. Quietly stepping in and closing the door, he realised she was on the couch with the comforter he used the night before. She looked up then smiled.

"Heyyy Miles…" She slurred.

He stopped moving in fear of what she was doing.

"You alright…?" He asked, worried.

She sat up, and stopped hugging the blanket. She was wearing a pink flannel and blue jeans now, so she had probably changed earlier.

"Yeah… A little, out of it, but… I'm still standing." She stood up slowly, but quickly began to lose balance. Miles quickly set his stuff down and tried catching her, helping her take a seat. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her cheeks were slightly rosy. Miles then realised what had been going on.

"You're drunk."

"You're hot." She giggled.

Miles shook his head and picked her up from the couch, slowly walking from the living room, to upstairs where the restroom was. He didn't really know her house that well, he just guessed his way around.

Judy rubbed her face all over miles shoulder and chest.

"Mmm, you smell so nice… All i could do was snuggle with the blanket you used the night before while trying to forget _him._ "

"Nick." Miles thought. "I know, Judy." He lowered his eyes as she had felt so empty and hopeless, along with turning to alcohol to help her forget. Finding the restroom at the end of the hallway, he pushed the door open with his foot, and walked in, slowly laying her on the ground. She tried to hold on, but was too drowsy to do so.

"I'm cold…" She shivered. Miles didn't care at the moment though, he was more worried on what was about to happen.

"I know, i'm just getting you prepared for-"

She retched into the toilet bowl, arching her back as she did so. Miles winced at the sight, and turned around, walking down stairs. Judy's cries for him echoed through the toilet bowl as she slurred.

"Miles, i'm sorry…" She retched again, and started to sob as the pain kicked in again. He came back upstairs, with two bottles of water in one hand and the comforter in the other. Placing the bottles on the sink next to her, he took the comforter to her room, and rolled it up into a shape of a different being of sorts. He then walked back to the bathroom as Judy began to spew a third time. Miles did her a favor and flushed, rubbing her back as well. She was crying from the pain, and her decision to drink too, so miles opened a bottle of water and handed it to her.

"Drink this. You'll feel better in the morning if you do."

She slowly grabbed ahold of the bottle and drank from it as much as she can, all the way until there was no more water left. She put the bottle down, then rested her head on her arms, sniffling.

"Come on, let's get you to bed." Miles spoke.

She nodded, and tried to get up, but Miles just chose to carry her so she didn't fall over again. When he carried her through the door, he turned on the lamp in the corner of the room, and gently lied her down on the bed, shivering as he let go. Using the comforter, he tucked her in, as tears slowly dried from her face. Miles then sat in a chair across from a bed, and hung his head. About twenty minutes had passed, and Judy snored softly. Miles began to speak to her without afraid of being heard.

"I wanted to turn your day around by taking you to go see something special…" He closed his eyes. "But it was my fault for even showing up in the first place. Nick didn't approve of me, you and i became friends way too quick, and i ended up losing my tail. _All within 48 hours_ …"

The timing amazed him as he thought, so he chuckled at the idea.

"Question is, was it faster for you to gain a friend, or lose one...?"

He slowly stood up, walking toward the door, but before he could close the door, Judy came to for a moment.

"M- Miles…" She was extremely drowsy as she spoke the words. "Please don't leave…"

He sighed, then came back into the room, sitting down on the bed, looking into the night sky through her window. She rolled over onto her side toward Miles, and curled around him as she fell back asleep.

(AUTHOR'S NOTES)

***If this chapter worried you, don't, it wasn't sparked by any real-world emotional problems i'm having, i just know a couple of ways it can happen. As a quick explanation, Nick and Judy aren't deemed "together as a couple", but that is a chapter for another day. But thank you for reading once again, and i _absolutely HATE_ to sound like an attention needy prick, but leave a review and favorite it if you enjoy it and want to see more.***


	5. Chapter 5

(AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS)

***Sorry for the split uploads, finals are going on at my High school so i'm sorta swamped from time. Anyway, i'm gonna start giving a recap before every new chapter from now on in case you're new, so go check out the first if you haven't already.

Miles had just recently met Nick and Judy as a police co-worker and ended up getting injured first day on the job with Nick. Nick however, started to get afraid and jealous for Miles staying a night with Judy and beginning to know her, so he decides to blow up and trash their friendship while Miles feels like this is all his fault.

Enjoy the new chapter, ill make a new one in the next day or two.***

CHAPTER 5:

"Nick." Finnick said.

"Nikki!" He hit him with his paw upside the head. Nick awoke with the start, his green shirt wrinkled and not buttoned properly. He groaned as he rubbed his head from a headache.

"What happened?"

"You got drunk as hell and passed out in the passenger seat." Finnick growled. He stepped down from the seat of the driver, closed the door, then walked to the passenger side, opening the door and grabbing a couple of empty bottles from him.

"C'mon man, you trashin' my van up."

Nick nodded apologetically and started to climb out of the ban, but he missed the step to the seat, and fell to the ground, exhaling in pain and a hangover. His knee hurt, but not as bad as the other day, so it healed enough to let him walk without crutches. Finnick looked back and rolled his eyes in annoyance, and carried the bottles to a plastic bag leaning on the back of the van.

" 'Least you gave me enough to buy a 40oz." He said counting the bottles. Nick slowly got up, rubbing his head, and trying to keep a steady walk. He headed to the back and saw Finnick with a bag full of bottles over his shoulder.

"What's that for?"

"Need a lil extra to pay back a debt i owe."

Nick shrugged and went into the back of the van, picked up his smartphone, and skipped through his contacts, looking through the "B" section. After picking a name, he started a call and held the phone to his ear. A low voice answered.

"What do you want."

"A favor." Nick replied.

The voice scoffed. "Why should the boss let you?"

"Because i'm regarding his daughter's best friend."

Murmurs could be heard quietly over the phone, and the voice spoke again.

"Be here within an hour."

"Yup, thanks!" Nick said happily.

He put his phone in his pocket, put a pair of sunglasses on, then left the van walking down toward tundra town. His headache still lingered, but his walk through the cold got rid of the heating pain within his knee. Noticing the blocked gates, a limouzine sat within the parking area. He climbed over, trying not to catch himself on the barbs, and when he landed on the other side, he opened the back door, and sat inside the limo, closing the door, and taking his sunglasses off.

"You're a few minutes early." A polar bear said.

Nick grinned. "Miss me?"

The bear snapped his fingers, and the driver began to take everyone to the back of tundra town, around an entrance where a large castle-like structure was. The drive was long, and dark after driving several minutes through a series of tunnels. Once the end of the drive was reached, the polar bear escorted Nick out of the limousine and into two large gateway doors.

The end of the path showed two more polar bears standing in black uniforms, with Mr. Big sitting in his small throne. Nick slowly walked up and bowed in respect.

"To what do i owe this favor you ask of, Nikki?" He asked.

"I need you to scare someone. I'm guessing you already know him?"

"Someone who is messing with my daughters best friend. Judy, my daughters savior, why does he have a problem with her?" He swished around a glass of scotch.

"I don't trust him. And with the way he's been acting with Judy, i'm afraid he'll hurt her." ick answered. Mr. Big thought for a second.

"I understand you care for Judy very well, and i know you like to keep everyone you care for safe, see, but tell me Nikki, this ain't an act of jealousy, is it?"

Nick knew it was. But he also knew that there would be a lot of hate for him and Judy if a, cross-species relationship were to happen. Some religions within their city see it as morally incorrect or even a stance against society. Nick brushed that idea out of his mind, and answered,

"No."

Mr. Big stayed quiet as he took a drink from his glass, then looked down.

"I'll send a few, gentlebears, to ask him nicely."

Nick smiled, then bowed.

"Thank you very much Mr. B., i assure you i'll pay you back somehow."

He waved his paw, "No need, you've done your service by keeping my daughter's best friend safe, she will be just as grateful as i am."

Nick nodded and thanked him again, and walked out of the double doors, with the limo still where it was. He was escorted back into the limo, and driven to the edge of tundra town, where the gate was now unlocked.

"Bye guys, have a great rest of your day!" he called out in a snarky manner. He walked out of the gate with a smile on his face, and thought about the outcome of Judy not being anywhere near Miles anymore. He picked up his phone again and searched for Finnick's name. He dialed his name and held the phone up to his ear.

"Hey Finn, i just got done talking to the big guy, can you come pick me up?"

Finnick whispered into the phone as if he was hiding.

"It's not a good time right now!"  
"What? Why?"

Finnick started to growl as he spoke.

"Because Miles is here, asking where you are!"

His stomach dropped.

"Why."

"He said he wanted to make things right..."

Nick tried to guess what that meant, but Finnick hung up the phone while he thought. Beginning to wonder where he would head next, Nick began to sprint to the van down town as fast as his legs could let him.

After ten minutes of straight sprinting, he reached the back of the breath, bashing on the back of the van, calling Finnick's name.

"It's me! Let me in Finn!"

He slowly opened the door with a cigarette in his mouth, his eyes narrowed, and his other hand carrying a pistol. Flicking the rest of the cigarette outside, Nick climbed in, and tried catching his breath as he sat down.

"So… what did he say…" He was breathing heavy.

Finnick began to open his 40oz, and take a drink, wiping his mouth before he spoke.

" 'said that he found Jude drunk as hell on the couch last night after losin' ya."

Nick stayed quiet while Finnick continued.

"Next thing ya know, the dude comes to the van wit' a knife on his side, but it was weird as hell he knew i thought he'd use it on you. Straight up said, 'i know the knife doesn't look good, but i ain't takin' another chance in this town'."

Nick lowered his eyebrows in uncertainty, then Finnick lit up another cigarette, taking a deep breath with it, then reaching behind him.

"He also told me to give ya this."

A knife was in Finnick's hand. A 13-inch survival knife hidden within its sheath. The edge of the blade poked through, showing the shining black polymer shade of steel it had. Nick carefully picked it up, and unsheathed it. He saw there were scratch marks on the sides, dark red streaks, and several cracks in the handle.

"That was his go-to knife if things got ugly, he said." Finnick explained, as he took another puff. "Explained that 'coon city trained 'em, and he wanted ya to be safe as well."

Nick nodded slowly with a worried look as he sheathed the knife again. He lightly placed the knife down and covered his mouth, looking past Finnick.

"I may, or may not have asked the mob to 'take care of him'".

Finnick started to cough heavily as he tried to comprehend what Nick just said.

"You asked the big fucken' cheeze to off Miles?!"

Nick nodded in silence, now realizing that Miles just wanted what was best. He quickly stood up, and went to the back of the van opening the door

"Ya look like ya need a fix up of night howlers!" Finnick called out laughing. But nick was in no laughing mood.

"I have to go!" he said in tension.

He left the van as fast as he could, bolting toward downtown Zootopia where Judy lived. He had lost even more breath on the run there than the sprint to the van, and once he reached the steps to the porch, he had to take several breaths before talking. But because he was pressed for time, he knocked quickly and violently on the door.

"Miles! Judy! Are you there?!"

A few seconds of silence, and Miles opened the door by a crack, then suddenly stepped outside looking at Nick with a irritated look on his face.

"What the hell are you doing here?! I tried going to talk to you but now you show up where Judy doesn't even want you!"

Nick took more breaths as he spoke.

"I had to tell you the mob is coming!"

"What mob?"

"Mr. Big! Him and his lackeys are on their way to kidnap you right now!"

Miles froze for a second, then took a step back, fixing his posture upright, now getting ready to defend himself.

"Why do you know this…" He questioned.

Nick didn't think this far, he wanted to make sure he wasn't killed by Mr. Big, but he also didn't want Miles or Judy finding out he did this himself. He chose to be half honest.

"Mr. Big is a friend of mine, and Judy, but he called me up asking if i happened to know a new face in town, and i said i haven't had a clue."

Miles gripped Nick by the collar of his shirt in anger.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell him that you knew me?!"

Nick looked around nervously as he thought of an answer, while trying to release himself from Miles' grip.

"I-I- I thought he was talking about a different fox! You weren't even doing anything bad so i figured he wasn't after you!"

Miles gritted his teeth, then lowered Nick, who was now fixing his shirt, and taking slow deep breaths now.

"You're gonna help me get out of this." He growled.

Nick nodded, but held a finger up.

"I have an idea. Do you have a piece of cloth or a bandanna? A mask of any kind?"

Miles sighed in frustration, and walked back into the house, leaving the door cracked as he searched through his bag. He called Judy, who was at work at the moment.

"Hey, listen i have to go grab something from the edge of town, i found out there is a sale on really cool pairs of sunglasses… Yeah, yeah okay Judy, have a great day!"

He gave a fake laugh and instantly went back to a straight face, now finding an orange bandanna, and zipping his bag up. He walked to the door and handed Nick the bandanna as he walked through.

"What's the plan?" He asked.

Nick put the bandanna around his snout, and tied it to the back of his head.

"I'm gonna fake being the 'new guy', and tell them i was doing undercover work for the ZPD, and you can explain that you're an officer, so they'll back off immediately."  
Nick stopped and waived his hand in confusion.

"Wait, why don't they want to touch an officer?"

Nick jumped down the steps, and looked back at Miles.

"You're too hot to touch. No mobster _ever_ would think of taking a police officer into their hands. It's too risky with the business they do."

Miles looked down trying to understand, and nodded, following Nick down the road. He started running, but Miles caught up eventually, asking,

"Where are we headed?"

Nick had more trouble breathing as he talked while running.

"We have to head up town… That's where we'll hide and wait for them to confront us…"

After running all the way back to the concrete jungle, they jogged down a pathway between a building and a project. Miles slowed down before nick, while only taking a couple of breaths, while Nick was gasping and wheezing for air.

"Jeez, you got asthma or something?"

Nick looked at him, closing one eye because of the sweat flowing through his fur.

"I ran from the van instantly after Finnick said you came by."

Miles looked away in understanding, and viewed the place they were in.

"Why are we here?"

"We need to keep an eye out for a limouzine-"

Nick was suddenly knocked out by a large polar bear, and as Miles attempted to turn around, he too was hit in the back of the neck with a metal pipe.

Miles hit the ground, and the last thing he saw was his bandanna over Nick's face before he blacked out.

(AUTHOR'S NOTES)

****Whelp, looks like karma just shoved its foot up Nicks rear end, lets hope he doesn't meet a freezing demise with Mr. Big. Lol, and hey! Two hundred views! I know some people don't see that as a lot, but to me, its fucken gigantic! I think about one whole person, taking the time out of their day to read my shitty story lmao, and knowing about 199 others are doing the same really amazes me! Even if there aren't favorites or reviews, i want to thank a fourth of those who choose to stick by and continue reading.****


	6. Chapter 6

(AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS)

****So i had a lot of time and music on my mind as i brewed up this chapter, with some inspiration from several different movies, and games. Oh, and i think i'm gonna release a separate google document that describes the new character. I feel like that would be easier for you viewers. Not his history or anything, but questions like, what is his favorite food and goofy things like that. By the way, i want to thank the _one_ viewer who favorited the story lmao.

Anyway, Nick, after waking up from the night after upsetting judy, he decides to ask Mr. Big for help, but realizing how badly he's made a mistake, he decides to go and find Miles to protect him from the mob instead, because of the friendly gesture Miles made trying to make friends.****

CHAPTER 6:

Judy walked through the door of her house with her headphones in her ears, as well as being in her uniform, and took off her vest, throwing it onto the couch. After locking the door, she turned around and realised Miles wasn't there.

"Huh. I wonder where he is…" She spoke to herself.

She walked to the kitchen as she took her earbuds out, searching for for something to eat within her cupboards. As she reached for a plate, she pulled out her phone and checked the time.

"It's 7:29, where is he…?" She looked back into the living room, and something caught her eye.  
The briefcase, residing by the rifle bag and the couch.

Judy shook her head out of wonder and continued taking out ingredients to use for a small dinner. She thought about if she should make another for Miles in case he needed to eat, and once she thought of him again, she looked back at the briefcase once more. This time, she stopped what she was doing, and turned around, taking a deep breath.

"I'm gonna get in trouble for this…" She thought as she began to walk to the briefcase. When she stood in front of it, she had her hands together in front of her lap, just waiting as she looked at it. She slowly raised a hand and reached for the handle, lifting it onto the couch. It felt really heavy; like a brick weighted it down. Judy lifted the briefcase to head level and wondered,

"What does he have in this thing?"

Taking it to the kitchen, she slowly set it down and noticed that there were no locks on it. She slowly placed her thumbs under the locks, and waited. The anticipation was killing her; she didn't notice how long this was taking her, in fact, she didn't know why she was afraid. She wasn't sure if it was because what was inside or if she was scared of getting caught. She attempted to flick the locks but a knock was suddenly heard on the door.

"C-coming!" She choked as she jumped from the knock, and quickly ran from the kitchen to the living room with the briefcase, putting it back where it was.

She then unlocked the door, and saw Finnick, standing there with a cigarette between his lips.

"Hey Finnick! What brings you to downtown zootopia…?"

Finnick pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and threw it on the ground, stomping it out as he kept his eyes on Judy.

"I know you and Nick ain't the best of friends right now, but he ain't at the Lobos, and i have no clue where he went."

Judy had a pit in her heart when she heard Nick's name, then spoke, connecting something.

"Well, i couldn't tell you, but i haven't seen Miles around either."

Finnick looked down the street, then leaned in.

"You know he's being chased by the mob right?"

Judy gasped.

"What?! Why?! Did Nick do something?!"

Finnick had a feeling that Nick didn't tell Miles the truth either when he first found him, so he chose to take one for the team.

"Nah, nah! He said he got the call from Biggie, and ended up asking him if he saw a new face in town. Guess it was some gangsta' bullshit or somethin'."

"Mr Big talked to him?!"

Finnick nodded.

Judy covered her mouth and started to look back at Miles' bag then began to wonder what happened to Nick in the middle of all this.

"Where do you think Nick went after finding out?"

" 'Said he was gonna go help Miles and try to escape from 'em, hell if i know where they went after that…"

"But Miles called me and said…"

When she realised that there was more to it then just getting sunglasses, she left the door wide open as she started searching for her taser. Finnick took a step forward and leaned in, peering through the house. Judy found her taser and placed it on her belt, beginning to walk back to the door. Finnick stepped back, and let Judy go on ahead, but she stopped, and looked at Finnick.

"You coming or not?"

He rolled his eyes and chose not to get involved.

"Nikki can take care of himself, i'm sure he's doing everything to suck up to da' big cheese."

Judy shrugged and began sprinting down the road, choosing not to take the bus.

On the other side, Miles was immersed into total pitch blackness, he had felt like he was floating, and couldn't move because it was way too comfortable. His ears perked, hearing very subtle booms in the back, they got into a rhythm after a few beats. _Thump-thump. Thump-thump._

Miles jumped as he woke. He looked around, seeing they had been placed into a room with only one door. He tried to get up, but felt restraint from his arms; He was tied to something, or someone. Looking back, he saw an orange and white tail, so he began to push into him.

"Hey, hey! Nick! Wake up!"

He slowly woke, with a major headache, looking around.

"Ugh… out of the frying pan, and into the toaster."

Miles got serious.

"You wanna mind telling me what's going on?"

Nick realised he had the bandanna on, and understood he was seen as somebody else.

"Not to be harsh, but, i think we're kidnapped."

Miles sighed in frustration, and leaned his head back.

"Oh, great."

They sat in silence, and Nick thought about how quiet Miles was like last time, in the car with Judy.

"You really don't like to talk much, do you?" He asked.

Miles looked toward Nicks direction and asked back.

"You really don't like meeting new people, do you?"

Nick stayed quiet, and chose to answer.

"Not unless i'm binded in cuffs with them, then i kinda have no choice."

More silence, and Nick was trying to keep it from setting in.

"What about you? Do you just not want to get in the middle of everyone's business?"

"Maybe…" He turned away from where Nick was looking.

Nick tried to find out.

"Okay, let me guess. You have a deep history with how you should speak?"

Miles scoffed. "That's too good of a guess. Wanna start explaining?"

Nick grinned under the bandanna.

"I have connections."

Miles gave a doubtful look.

"Hah, just kidding. I kinda pieced together what you had shown yourself to be while you used your time in Zootopia. The time you saved me from getting hit by a train, the way you opened up to Judy, the knife you had left for me, all those kind of, emotional things."

Miles looked toward Nick.

"And you think you know enough about me to become a friend?"

"I mean, it's worth a shot." He shrugged, and Miles could tell.

"Well then what's your story? Not just cheating the system, but where you grew up."

Nick looked up as he spoke.

"Born and raised in Zootopia. I had a father, but he was off doing his own thing somewhere, so my mom had to take care of me on her own. I guess i kinda adapted to not having a dad, but i had to learn more about the world myself than from a father figure."

Miles stayed quiet, taking the info in, and Nick continued.

"Next thing you know, i wanted to join a little unit called the 'junior ranger scouts'; a type of skills in the wilderness and community club. My mother saved everything she could for a uniform, and next thing you know, the night of the induction is the same night i'm ridiculed for being the only predator there. So they reject me, stick a muzzle on me and laugh."

His voice got quiet when he finished.

"You don't need to continue." Miles spoke.

"Alright. But i just wanted to give an explanation on why i ended up doing all these crimes; cheating, thievery, and even assault after working for Mr. Big."

Miles exhaled and tried to explain himself, like what he did for Judy, but more difficult since he didn't feel comfortable.

"I used to be full of hope myself, only for a day though..."

Nick looked back and joked. " And i thought i had it bad…"

Miles nodded. "Somehow, i managed to get myself involved with the actions of my parents in drug trafficking, on my first day as a recruit."

"Wait, you guys had a problem with night howler's too?" Nick asked.

"No," Miles shook his head. "There was a bi-product produced by the already used plant. Some people in the town i lived in were _heavy_ drug abusers. Next thing you know, people wanted something stronger. And what better place than to get it from my fucking parents."

He growled mentioning his mother and father.

"Being the hypocrites they were, they told me that i should never stop fighting for what i thought was right, and they ended up having a damn lab under the house the entire time i was filled with motivation and promise. That's when things went downhill for me and my parents. I ended up getting into an awful fight with my dad, and my mother intervened, so i had to hurt her too…" He stopped.

Nick now felt like that he was the only one that could do anything to change the issues they were in the middle of, and with Miles now explaining how the way he was, Nick could relate _somewhat._ He looked back at Mies who was now looking down.

"Hey," He spoke softly. Miles looked back. And Nick grabbed ahold of his left hand with his own right.

"You did the right thing."

Miles closed his eyes nodding, then looked away. He took a deep breath trying to distract himself, and asked,

"So how are we gonna get out of here?"

Nick looked around for an answer, trying to find something that could help them escape. The room they were held captive in however didn't carry tools of any kind; its was just full of crates and a few chairs. Miles remembered something though.

"Huh-holy shit! Nick!"

He looked towards Miles.

"What?"

"Reach into my back pocket!"

Nick froze in realization.

"Why…?"

Miles knew he was already uncomfortable about it, but if this was what he needed, it had to be done.

"Just feel for a metal object!"

Nick sighed heavily after rolling his eyes, then he closed them in embarrassment, searching for something that touched Miles rear end. Miles began to blush out of embarrassment as well, and his tail spiked out of the sensation.

"God, here!" He placed a pair of pliers in Miles' palm, and he began to wrap the needle-nose around the chins, gripping tightly with strength out of adrenaline.

But a loud crash was heard out of nowhere, and a panther could be seen wildly roaring on the other side of the door.

"Do something, cop!" Nick called out.

"After you!" Miles said in tension, now straining to get the chains off. The door was being bashed on harder this time, and Miles snapped the chain link off in time, as him and Nick both dashed away from each other, while the panther pounced where they once were.

Nick crashed landed, while Miles rolled to the other side of the room, standing up in a defense position. He looked at Nick, who was set on his rear end, looking at the savage panther grow at both of them. He signaled him to run to the door an escape, and Nick denied the order, but Miles didn't want to take a chance. He growled and jumped on to the panther, growling as he wrapped his arms around the waist if it, and he screamed at Nick, a fire burning in his eyes.

"GET OUT OF HERE!"

Nick obeyed Miles command out of what capabilities he had, and bolted out of the room, taking his mask off, while Miles continuously slammed his fist and claws into the side and back of the savage predator. It howled, letting a bone chilling roar out of its system, and Miles had gotten even angrier.

Nick was running down a long hallway tha had an exit and a corner, but his instinct was to go and look for help. But the moment he had reached the corner, he was thrown into somebody else, and had the wind knocked out of him for a moment. He lied down for a second, and sat up seeing Judy on the ground unconscious.

"Oh no, Judy!" He scampered to her.

He picked her head up off the ground, and softly shook her.

"Jude! Carrots! Please wake up we have to go!"

She slowly woke up, and crashing and yelling could be heard in the distance. Once she woke completely, she pushed Nick off, and crawled her way to the door, leaning up against it, an upset look on her face.

"The fuck do you want Nick." She didn't make eye contact.

"Judy, please listen to me!" His voice was frantic, and he got closer, trying to get her attention.

"Miles was in serious trouble, by the mob, and i went to go save him!"

She scoffed. "So why do you care about your _oh, so precious competition_ , huh?!"

"Because i was wrong to judge in the first place! It was just like this in the first place with you and me, and i don't want as bad of a repeat, so i chose to go and help!"

"Then how did you even get time to talk to him so he could connect with you?!"

He started to freeze up, trying to find a good answer.

"Because i, just,"

"What, did you bribe him with something? Like you thought i fucking slept with him?!"

"No! It's not, just-"

"You fucking lied, didn't you?!"

He grabbed ahold of her shoulders and looked into her eyes, yelling.

"I don't know what i would do if i lost you!"

She went from anger, to a solemn frown. Nick still had a frantic look on his face, and because she was looking back into his eyes, it made Nick look like he was about to cry, but he wasn't. He was just scared. Scared of losing the only other person in his life, and he knew Finnick was there too, but he wasn't that good of a friend. He looked down and rested his head on Judy's chest, hugging her close, and quietly speaking.

"I'm sorry… I never wanted to hurt you, i just wanted to keep you safe from anyone that was like me; a sly fox with almost nothing to lose. That shit can go one of two ways, and i wasn't willing to take that risk…" Judy lifted his chin and looked into his emerald eyes. She could swear they were sparkling, but that was probably from the emotional state he was just in. Nick looked back with a less frantic face now, and more worried of what Judy's answer would be.

She thought for a moment, and just decided to go in and hug him close. Nick felt better, knowing that she accepted his apology. She wasn't gonna cry, but she had that feeling in her heart, and then she thought of where they were; in the back of where the mob was gonna execute the same fox that they were both fond of. She started to tear up again, but thought of how sick of crying she was.

"Damn it." She said through a broken voice. Nick guessed that she was sick of crying too, but he had to be honest. For her, for Miles, and for himself. He pushed Judy away softly, then looked into her eyes.

"I'm gonna get him out of this. I promise."

Judy was confused.

"What? Why you?"

"Because…" He sighed. "I called Mr. Big to do it."

Judy then looked at Nick with an uncertain look, but chose not to question it. She just closed her eyes, wiped her tears, and nodded.

"Okay."

They both stood up, running back to the room where Miles was, but the screaming and noise stopped. Judy Instantly stopped Nick, and told him to lower down and stay quiet. He followed, and they peered over a corner, witnessing a horrifying scene.

There was a corpse. A bloody, torn, mutilated corpse of a panther. There was a puddle of blood here, a streak there, the stomach of the animal was torn open, with a horrified look on his face before death; as if he had turned back to normal before a moment of pain. Judy looked away, and went down to the opposite hallway, while nick closed his mouth in fear. He then tapped on Judy's shoulders, and quietly asked,

"Miles couldn't do that with his bare hands…"

Judy looked toward Nick.  
"Could he…?"

They were both scared, but they kept moving ahead to the edge of a hallway, where two double doors made of steel. Judy slowly pushed a door open, peering into the room, and seeing a stack of crates. Sneaking ahead, Nick followed, and looked along the side of the crate, seeing Mr. Big, two polar bear body guards, and a third polar bear standing to the left. Judy instantly wanted to question him for what he was going to do to Miles, but Nick stopped her from doing anything drastic, by holding her shoulder, slowly shaking his head, then mouthing, "Don't worry, i've got this."

Judy nodded, and saw Mr. Big in his chair, with another drink in his hand. He spoke up.

"Bring in the threat."

The third bear nodded, then went to the back door, and opened it up, having two more polar bears throw Miles in with ease. He was tied up and gagged, a blood stain splattered on his eye-fur area and his chest. He didn't bother trying to get up, he just lied there; somewhat careless, but alive. The doors closed and the third polar bear kicked Miles into the center, where a lone spotlight was seen hovering above, illuminating his broken figure.

"You've been scaring my daughter's friend. How does it feel to be scared yourself?" Mr. Big asked. But Miles stayed silent.

"Answer me." He ordered, then a polar bear kicked him. Miles grunted in anger, and looked at Mr. Big with hateful eyes, speaking muffled.

"Tek thu fuffen gug aff."

Mr. Big signaled the polar bear to tear the gag off. He did, and with heavy force intended. Miles growled after having it pull against his face, then stayed silent again.

"Well? What did you say before?"

He spoke in adrenaline and anger.

"I said 'take the fucking gag off'!"

Mr. Big did not enjoy the way his new "guest" was treating him, and he looked down, sighing at the demise of what could be of him. Miles began to sit up with his knees, his arms still tied behind his back.

"Look, i don't know who you are, what you want, and why you captured me, but i'm getting sick of the way you try to get answers out of another being!"

He tried to stand up, but the polar bear kicked him down in his upper back, blowing the air out of his system, and sending him down back on his knees. Judy flinched and Nick watched, wide-eyed. He was trying to time the right way to intervene, but didn't want him to miss his chance to explain what happened.

"I don't care what the other animal does to me or my family, long as i have a way to capture 'em, they're under my command." Mr. Big spoke in a solemn, deep voice.

Miles growled again, and tried to stand himself up, but ended up getting kicked down, closer to the throne he sat in. Over and over, he got back up, then was downed, then up again, until he rolled over. Mr. Big then snapped his fingers, and another polar bear brought a small chair for Miles, setting it in front of him, then picking him up and sitting him down into the chair. His head hung down as he breathed heavily, looking at Mr. Big with one flaring hazel eye.

Mr. Big then placed his paw onto his chin, thinking.

"Truly, Mister Feral, i wonder how you still manage to get back up after being taught a lesson or two. Please, elaborate on your reason to do so."

Miles stayed quiet, and Mr. Big then nodded toward the polar bear, but he went to the back door, opening it and showing a wolf, also in the same outfit for Mr. Big, holding a bat. As he walked in, he stood next to Miles, both paws on the handle, a serious look on his face as he waited for his boss's signal.

"You don't want to say your, truly amazing talent?"

He stayed quiet.

"So be it." He nodded at the wolf, who nodded back, then braced to take a swing at Miles's knee. He yelped in pain, only to get angrier as the throbbing sensation went through his body. He braced for another swing, and Miles then looked up into the air, closing his eyes as the blow landed in his lower abdomen, now sending him forward, giving a gush of air through his system. Judy gasped, covering her mouth in attempt to mute it, and Nick closed his eyes, in anger with himself for having this happen. Miles began to laugh out loud for some random reason, and the wolf was ready to swing again, but Mr. Big waved his hand in disapproval.

"Why do you laugh? Why do you choose to act so happy?"

"Because i'm not fucking happy!" Miles roared. "I'm tied up inside of a crime boss's foyer, without a roof over my head and no place to sleep, while some fucking polar bear and wolf beat me senseless! So no, i'm not that happy!"

Mr. Big stayed silent. Miles took the chance to continue. His words fused together because of how fast and angry he spoke.

"I sit here, a helpless fucking fox, with almost a'sliver'uh hope that i still have'uh reason to live! But you, or whoever th' fuck had something against me, just wants me to fucking die off. So i sit here, waiting for you to pull th' fuggen' trigger!"

Nick almost jumped up to stop him from talking, but Judy had her mouth covered, as she listened to the awful things he spat out.

Mr. Big spoke,

"I have absolutely nothing against you, mister Feral. But i am just doing what my customers ask of me. All it takes is a little bit of money and fear, and you're well-protected for a very long time."

"You ask me for money, even though i have explained i'm homeless, and don't have much else to live for?!"

"No, but you aren't worthy of life if you keep saying you have no reason."

Miles stopped, and slowly leaned forward, looking up at Mr. Big.

"If you have to kill me, then do it yourself. All i ask, if you grant wishes of sorts, is that i die by the hand of the leader. I mean, for fuck's sake, give me a bit of pride and honor before i'm layed down."

Mr. Big sighed. He signaled the wolf to leave, and he obeyed, calmly leaving the room. He then signaled the polar bear to take a step back, and he also obeyed.

"Miles, come here."

He fell out of the chair, lying on his stomach face down, then began to climb to his feet, but the hit on his knee shoved him back down, forcing him to crawl his way to the throne. The two polar bears that guarded the throne began to get defensive. But Mr. Big spoke.

"All of you leave. I want a moment with Miles myself."  
The three polar bears nodded, and left the room, all looking down on Miles as he crawled. Reaching the throne up close, he rolled onto his back, and Mr. Big walked his way down a small stepping system next to his throne. He reached the ground, then stood next to Miles's head. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing heavily.

"I know you care for her." He said into Miles's ear.

He opened his eyes.

"Who." He already knew who.  
"The best friend of my daughter, fru-fru. Judith Hopps. She's given you a place to stay, yes?"

He nodded.

"Well, her former coworker, Nick, didn't like the choice you made; to continue seeing her. So he wanted something to be done about it."

Miles had his stomach twist. After the connection they _just_ made, he now has to live with this pain. He looked at Mr. Big, who was now walking to the door where the polar bears were. He slowly sat up, and asked Mr. Big a question.

"Why did you send a savage panther… If your goal was to scare me?" He left Nick out of the equation, now understanding that his presence here was irrelevant.

Mr. Big stopped, then turned around.

"I didn't…"

He then turned around a little faster, and whistled, now having the three polar bears come back into the room.

"Carefully take Miles back to Judy. Clean him up, and _do not_ , hurt him."

They all nodded, but Miles said one more thing.

"Mr. Big?"

He stopped and looked back.

"I apologize for being an inconsiderate prick. I was just not in the mood to be in the middle of something so badly wounding."  
He nodded.

"I appreciate your honesty, Miles. I assure you, next time there will be a friendly greet. I hope to see you again."

Miles was then picked up from where he lied, and passed out from pain-induced shock.

(AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS)

****Well, that was rather gruesome, I think i need to stop focusing on the new guy so much, next chapter will focus on Nick and Judy's relationship, i promise. And next chapter will contain a link to an open document on Miles's personality, traits, and achievements. Stay tuned within the next two days or so, i'll have another one done by then.****

*******OH, and one more thing! PLEEEAAASSSSEEE Like, favorite, and even leave a review of each chapter to help me out; it gives me more motivation and reason to keep writing, plus, if you catch a typo or something like that, you win a free cookie lol. But in all seriousness, it gives me criticism that i can use to make future chapters even better looking and sounding.*******


	7. Chapter 7

(AUTHORS THOUGHTS)

******Sorry for the half-assed upload, i was focused on getting a job, and i was just really tired. Anyway, here is another chapter to reveal more secrets.

And P.S., ill have slightly longer chapters coming soon. this thing is probably play out much more than i expected.*****

CHAPTER 7:

Judy didn't go home after that. She chose to walk with Nick to the hospital where Miles was. They didn't say anything to each other, but their body language could say a thousand words. They reached for the hospital, and Nick calmly asked to visit Miles, while Judy had her hands behind her back, looking at the ground. "Patient #226" was Miles' call number, and they used the info to find the waiting area. Hours passed and other people waiting were there for their loved ones as well, but Nick and Judy both had a very empty look on their face. At one point, Judy had fallen asleep because of how much energy she used, and Nick realised that she fell onto his shoulder. They sat side by side, and he didn't bother trying to wake her up. Instead, he slowly lifted the arm of the shoulder the she was lying on, then wrapped it onto her seat, giving her more space and area to sleep comfortably. He grinned for a moment, then immediately thought of the way he treated her the day before. He covered his eyes with his other hand, trying to hold back the pain. Judy then rubbed the side of her head onto Nick's upper chest, trying to get more comfy. He noticed, then slowly brought down his arm to let her lie with. She grabbed ahold of it, wrapping her arms around it for warmth very softly.

The door of the E.R. that Miles was in opened, and a cat wearing a lab coat stood there, with a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. She walked up to Nick, who then handed her the visitor card to see Miles.

"He has a couple of broken ribs," The doctor said, "and a fractured kneecap, but his regeneration levels are off the charts! I'd say he'll be up and out in the next week." She smiled, and Nick nodded, saying "Thank you."

He then looked over to Judy, who was now cuddling Nick's arm. He softly rubbed the side of her face with the back of her hand, then looked into her amethyst eyes as she awoke.

"Hey, sleepy head. Come on, let's go see Miles."

She nodded, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, then followed Nick into the E.R.

Miles was in a hospital bed, stripped from all of his clothing, and connected with different pieces and parts of tubing within his system. He hid underneath a blanket, and was wide awake, but very loopy from the anesthetic. Nick walked up with Judy, and he leaned onto the bar of the bed frame.

"Hey Miles…" his voice was quiet.

Miles opened his eyes, then looked at Nick. He didn't say anything.

Nick then looked down, and Judy began to put her hands onto the bar, talking as well.

"We came by to see if you were doing fine…"

He was still quiet, now looking at Judy.

"Look," Nick continued, "I just wanted to say that i am, really, really, _really_ sorry for all the trouble i've caused you. We had a rough start, and i didn't even give you a chance to open up. But at a moment's notice, when we unintentionally got tied together in a storage room, i was able to finally connect with you…"

Miles still stayed quiet, now looking up into the ceiling.

Judy jumped in.

"And i never meant to make you feel like you had to stay with me, i just wanted to make sure you were safe, that's all."

Her voice was hoarse, tired and weak. He remained silent.

Nick and Judy then looked at each other with worried looks in their eyes, then looked back at Miles. Judy then carefully grabbed ahold of Miles's hand, a tube of clear liquid trailing from his wrist. She held it firmly, but softly, looking into his eyes.

"But i am going to keep my promise." She slowly brought his hand to her lips, and spoke, not making contact.

"If you need _anything,_ please speak up…"

She softly placed his hand down, and turned around, while Nick looked back, then nodding toward Miles. They began to walk toward the doors, but after a few steps, he spoke slowly.

"This morphine is fucken' powerful."

Judy turned back around, and quickly walked back to the bed, with a look of hope on her face, Nick did the same, but he had a happy grin slowly take over his face.

"You okay…?" She asked worried.

"A little slow…" He looked at the tube in his wrist. "But i'm still kickin'." He sat up in the bed.

"Again, Miles, i'm really sorry for lying to you," Nick said, "i don't know how i'll ever make it up to you…"

Miles held his hand out and looked at him, with a small smile on his face. Nick noticed, and slowly raised his hand, assuming it was a handshake. Once his hand connected, Miles quickly pulled him into a hug, patting him on the back at the same time. Nick was surprised, but he didn't care. He also patted him on the back, feeling better, then Miles receded.

"You just did." He nodded with a smile. "The important thing is that we're okay."

He looked at Judy.

"And i think i'm gonna need a favor from you Ms. Hopps."

She smiled and leaned in for a hug as well.

After things calmed down, he brought up a solid.

"I want to ask for one thing."

Judy nodded in wonder.

"You two, need to become friends again." He pointed his middle and pointer finger at both of them. Nick and Judy exchanged looks, then Nick asked why.

"Because before i got here, you two seemed to be the best of both worlds; two peas in a pod. Then i came along and broke it all down!"

They stayed silent, knowing it was the truth, but wanted to deny it out of Miles' self esteem.

"I know you want to say otherwise about it, but, it's the truth." He continued. "I should have just stayed in my area when i had the chance…"

Judy looked down and Nick closed his eyes. Both loathing for themselves.

"But, if you want to prove me wrong…" He grinned, and they both looked up at him. "Then make this happen."

Judy jumped in happiness then saluted Miles, speaking.

"I won't let you down, Captain!"

Nick did the same, saluting, then saying, "Yes, sir!"

He gave a great big smile, and the two left the room, looking at each other in happiness.

The smile didn't even last for a full minute though; once they exited the building, Nick got a call on his phone. Picking it up, it was Benjamin Clawhauser.

"Hiya Nikki!" He spoke loudly over the phone. Nick could hear the _accent_ in his voice, and kind of cringed from it, but because he wanted to be polite, he put up a fake smile and answered.

"Hi ben!"

Judy tried to hide her smile, but Nick noticed and rolled his eyes.

"Did you hear about the new recruit?!" He beamed, "Oooh, he looks like a handsome little devil!"

Nick tried chuckling instead of gagging from the thought of looking at Miles like that.

"Yeah!... Hey listen, uh, i'm in the middle of something right now, so i think i'll have to call you back, alright?"

Benjamin cut in.

"Oh, but i called on business notice! Mr. boss-man says he wants to know where the _fudge_ you two have been with the Captain?"

Nick froze, trying to think of an answer. Judy noticed, then took the phone from him, setting it to loud speaker and answering for him.

"Uh, he was injured on the job and he needed extensive surgery to get it under control!"

"Oh, hi Judy!" He said aloud again. "But oh no, what happened?"

"He lost a part of his tail to an accident with the train…"

"Aww that's not good!" He gave a saddened tone. "Poor thing probably used it as a cuddle buddy when he slept as a kid…"

Judy tried laughing off the remark Ben made, trying not to get creeped out.

"Well, we can be in work by tomorrow, but Miles may be a while longer, so go ahead and let Bogo know about that!"

"Yes ma'am!" He said in a joking manor, typing up an email to the chief himself.

"There ya go!" He happily said. "Now you too be safe!"

"Yeah, we will!" She laughed, then ended the call with a cringe out of what he said for Miles.

"You don't think he has a thing for Miles do you?" She asked worried.

Nick took his phone back and shrugged.  
"Chances are he'd be flattered but say no."

They continued walking down the road, and Judy realised she still had a bit of cash left. As they walked through town, she noticed several different restaurants open. She held her stomach and looked at Nick.

"Wanna get something to eat?"

"Sure. Noodles sound good?" He pointed to the panda restaurant across the street.

Judy smiled and nodded, then pulled the wad of cash she had out of her pocket.

"This was supposed to be the dinner money all three of us were gonna use…"

Nick noticed, then patted Judy on the back, smiling.

"Hey, where he's at, he gets spoon-fed by a hot nurse."

Judy busted out laughing. Nick smiled and continued walking ahead, while both of them crossed the street.

"Have you been here before?" He asked.

Judy let out a sigh after laughing then answered.

"I don't think so, but i'm willing to try something new!"

She smiled, then Nick hurried ahead to open the door for her, making a comment.

"Bunnies first!" He bowed.

"Bite me." She joked as she walked.

Nick closed the door behind him, and replied,

"Jokes on you, my savage side would agree"

He winked with his tongue sticking out, and Judy scoffed, rolling her eyes. The staff of the establishment suddenly popped up, all saying " _Huanying!_ " Loudly. Nick waved, but Judy was confused. He walked up to her, then spoke to her from behind.

"That means 'greetings'." He patted her back, then waked to a two-seated table, pulling a seat out for her.

"I knew that!" She took her own seat, sitting down across from Nick.

"Come on, can't a fox be nice for once?"

She crossed her arms grinning.

"I'll believe that when a bunny can go savage."

They looked through the menu, wondering what kind of toppings there were.

"Herro, would yew rike to ordah someting?" A panda suddenly spoke, holding a notepad and pencil.

Judy surfed the menu once more, then spoke up.

"Uhh, i don't see anything yet, Nick what are you getting?"

He placed his menu down, locking his fingers together. With a grin, he answered the waiter.

"An extra large plate of carrot noodles with peanut sauce."

Judy put down the menu in confusion.

"Wait, but i didn't-"

"Extra rarge prate a dah carrot noodhars, heeah, or to go?" The panda cut in.

"Here. Two pairs of chopsticks please." Nick answered, looking at the waiter. He then looked at Judy, with the signature grin he had on his face.

"Don't worry about it."  
Judy became slightly annoyed with his decision, but ignored it.

"Aww, you too have such a grate bond, i can sense it!" The panda happily said. He then walked away, and Nick leaned in, folding his arms onto the table. Judy looked around, then put her hands together with a straight face.

"Not all bunnies eat carrots you know."  
"Mm-hmm, i know. But that's not why i ordered it."

A few minutes passed, and a large plate was served, with two chopsticks and two glasses of water, with straws. A new waiter delivered the food this time.

"Enjoy your meal!" The waiter's voice sounded easier to understand this time.

"Thank you!" Judy said, waving at the waiter, then turned back to Nick, who started to use the chopsticks with ease. He took a bite, slowly eating up the amount he scooped up because of how hot it was. Judy on the other hand, was having issues just trying to hold the chopsticks correctly. Nick noticed and tried something.

"I'm gonna go see if they have any forks…" She said, then once she turned her head to look back at Nick, he had a small amount already in between his chopsticks, suddenly going into Judy's mouth by surprise. She almost jumped, trying to catch the eating utensil, but stopped, and slowly ate the noodles.  
"Mmf!" She muffled. Nick grinned, still holding the chopsticks that were in her mouth.

"See? isn't bad, is it?"

Nick withdrew the chopsticks as Judy kept chewing, closing her eyes in embarrassment, then swallowing, slumping down in her seat, blushing a bright red. Nick chuckled.

"You look so sheepish!"

"I didn't expect that…" She said, now slightly grinning.

"Well?" He asked.

"It was… Sweet." She said slowly.

"Just like you." He slipped, before eating another scoop of noodles. Judy immediately sat up, and pointed a finger at Nick.

"Watch it, Wilde."  
"What?" He said with a mouthful. " 'least i didn't say cute!"

She rolled her eyes again.

About an hour passed before they finished. Judy was full and warm, leaned back, holding her stomach, and Nick leaned back in his chair, picking out stuff from his teeth with a toothpick.

The Waiter then collected the plate and dishes, leaving a bill in exchange.

"Bye, thank you for visiting!"

Nick flipped up the bill, then smiled at Judy, who had her eyes closed.

"Last one out has to pay!"

He quickly got up, and casually jogged to the door. Judy opened, and rolled her eyes after hearing what Nick said, while placing a 20 for the bill, and a five for the tip. She saw Nick, who was holding the door open for her.

"You're a jerk, Nick." She smiled.

"Come on, you know you love me."

She stopped, then held the door for him, almost forcing him through.

"Yeah, i do." She smiled.

It was about 10 at night, and there were only stars and a half moon in the sky. Traffic was nothing more than a light ambiance effect in the distance, and the lights of building guided their walk. They walked toward the intersection leading toward Judy's house. She noticed Nick had not turned yet, then asked.

"Hey, why haven't you left to go home yet?"

"Because i want to make sure you get home alright." He smiled, slowly starting to trail behind.

"Why's that?" She didn't look back.

"Because…" Nick said pulling out a twenty and a ten.

"Someone could backwards-pickpocket you!"

He quickly ran up, spanked her, then jogged ahead. Judy immediately jumped from the gesture, then ran after Nick with a bright red face.

"I'm gonna get you Wilde!" She growled in humiliation. Nick laughed, and began to sprint faster, with both of them reaching her house. He started to ease up on laughing, then fell to the ground, rolling onto his back, and looking up into the sky. Judy caught up, then gave up on chasing, only lying next to him on her stomach. Nick looked into the night sky, admiring the thousands of stars that were out tonight. Judy looked at him.

"What are you so happy about?"

He smiled then leaned onto his side.

"Knowing if you're smiling is my only worry, carrots."

She closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into her arms. Nick set his cheek into his palm, and debated whether or not he should softly brush his fingers through her fur around her ears. He chose to take the chance, but instead rubbed her back. Judy felt his hand softly gliding up and down her back. She wanted to object, but she didn't; she was comfy, relaxed, warm. She let an exhale of air, slowly opening her eyes. Nick had a small grin, because of how peaceful she had looked. His hand glided lower for a couple of swipes.

"I'm trusting you Nick…" She said.

Nick stopped rubbing her back and smiled.

"I know, that's why i stopped."

The moonlight struck them, just a little bit over the tree, and Nicks fur sparkled in Judy's eyes.

"Your fur sparkles…" She said drowsily.

"So do your eyes…" He replied.

He smiled, then sat up, slowly helping Judy up as well.

"I have to get going home, alright?" he said.

Judy nodded, then yawned, stretching for a long time, as Nick did the same, and before she turned, Nick called her name.

"Judy?"

"Hmm." She was extremely drowsy.

"Thanks for still being here…"

He quickly kissed her cheek, and Judy closed her eyes.

She knew exactly what happened; she was just too tired to worry about it.

Nick slowly turned around, then walked home, with his hands in his pockets, smiling. Judy had a slight look on her face; her mouth hung open, but not in surprise or anything, she actually looked like a really tired five year old. She gave a small smile mixed with the look, then turned to enter her house. She opened the door, walked in slowly, then closed and locked it behind her, before realising how little light was in the house. She took another step forward and then suddenly tripped, falling to the ground and hurting her foot.

"Ouch! Son of a…"

She realised it was the briefcase.

Slowly standing back up, she walked to the briefcase, and picked it up in caution. She remembered how close she was to opening it, and understood that Miles wouldn't be home for a while. She took the briefcase to the kitchen table, and sat down in front of it, keeping her hands locked together. She waited for a few moments out of the disrespectful act she was about to commit, then reached for both locks simultaneously, snapping them with ease. She then slowly opened the case, revealing what was inside.

There was a handgun. But not any ordinary handgun; this was had gold plating to it. It came with four extra clips, and two boxes of ammunition along side of it. The round it looked to fire was a .357 round, and each clip was already full.

"What kind of gun is this…?" She questioned.

She lowered her hand from holding the top of the briefcase, and softly brushed her hand across the golden firearm. It was as slick as grease, and almost no marks were left. She then lowered her other hand, and carefully picked up the handgun by its grip. The weight of it was about three pounds, and she kept her finger away from the trigger as well. She pressed the magazine release, and a golden clip slid out of the gun. Judy caught it, and admired how all parts of the weapon (minus the ammunition of course) was pure 24 karat gold. Rounds were already inside the clip, so she slowly placed that down on the table and pulled back the receiver, having a round eject out of the chamber. The action scared her, and she jumped to catch the round.

She admired the round in its state of solitude, with its brass casing shining from the kitchen light. She placed the round down, then flipped the gun over, finding the serial number and maker of the weapon.

"E.M.W.I., Desert Fox…"

She shrugged, and placed the clip back into the gun, cocking the slide to load another round into the chamber, then released the clip to put the first round back. After cleaning up what there was, she safely put all of the briefcase contents back where it belonged, then set it back next to his bags. Judy went back to the stairs, but before she continued, she felt something rub against her rear end, then reached into her back pocket, finding a twenty and a ten. She scoffed.

"Thanks, Nick."

Judy went to the station the next morning with a lot on her mind. How Miles was feeling, what the gun he had was for, and what Nick had done as well. She thought about how subtle he was with the small kiss, but how he wasn't afraid of the outcome. Cross-species dating wasn't that socially acceptable within Zootopia, let alone the fact that it was always looked down upon. Judy closed her eyes and thought about how he was gonna take the news if she brought it up, along with how her parents would act about it.  
"Hello, carrots!" Nick said.

Judy jumped and covered her mouth out of reflex.

"Jeez Nick, you scared the heck out of me!" She strained, pushing his shoulder, he chuckled and drank from a mug of coffee.

"Just be glad i didn't yell." He grinned, and Judy turned around. Nick then held her shoulder trying to apologize, but she shrugged him off.

"Whoa, i didn't mean to upset you-"

"It's fine. Just…" She sighed. "Nick we need to talk."  
His grin suddenly disappeared.

"Wait, about what?"

"About… Last night." She fought with herself to get the words out.

"Wait, about the k-"

"Hopps! Wilde! Get in here!" Bogo called out.

They walked to his office, where he was writing something, then gestured toward the chairs.

"Close the door, take a seat."

They looked at each other, and Nick closed the door behind him, while Judy continued to take a seat. The sat in silence for a few seconds, then Bogo locked his hands together, with a relaxed look on his face.

"So i presume mister Feral isn't here today?"

The both shook their heads.

"Well, then that explains the reason for his message…"

He then pressed the playback button on his desk top telephone, and a message was heard, recorded by Miles. A beep could be heard, then he spoke.

"Hi chief! Uh, listen, i'm in the hospital right now, being treated for a few injuries i had gotten off duty. But don't worry, the doc claims i'll be back in a week or two, just some physical therapy, a rib x ray, and a brace for my knee. I'll be in work about a week from now. See you."

The message ended with another beep, then Bogo pressed the stop button, and locked his hands again.

"Wanna explain what probably most likely happened?"

They stayed silent.

"Oh, well, that's too bad, because we have evidence that the mob was involved!"

He quickly pulled up a file from his drawer, throwing it onto the desk in anger. File reports of audio recordings, along with photographs were in it. The photographs showed two polar bears with Mr. Big, along with another polar bear, carrying Miles. Then, a third photograph showed Nick and Judy walking away from the building they all left. Judy was speechless, but Nick did some quick thinking.

"He was injured by a couple of guys the night before, and Mr. Big was nearby, so i was wondering if he could help find the guys who harmed him! He got jacked because he didn't have a place to sleep, and Judy immediately texted me, so i ran over, and we took him there!"

Bogo stayed silent, and judy looked at Nick with surprise, then immediately started nodding in agreement.

"Well then explain this as well." He slowly put up an unmarked folder. Judy opened it, revealing photographs of the mutilated panther they saw.

"I, i don't know chief…" Judy answered. "I wouldn't know who has the strength to harm a larger animal like that."

He quickly swiped the folder back.

"Well, you'd better figure something out fast, because this was found in the building you all left!"

He threw the folder onto a cabinet across the room, and stood up from his chair.

"I have reason to believe _he_ did it." he snarled.

Judy had gone full defensive mode, and tried to block his reasoning.

"What info do you have on him that can prove that?!"

"Look, i can't show you the records, but you have to believe me! I don't trust him!"

Nick spoke up, standing from his seat as well.

"Well just because he had a minor connection, that has _yet_ to be proven, mind you, doesn't mean you can just shun him for an isolated incident!"

"That isn't what i'm doing Wilde! I swear to the fullest, he's capable of something like this!"

"Then why would you believe this has to do with the mob?" Judy asked.

"Because it doesn't!" He yelled.

The room fell silent, and Bogo sighed. He opened the laptop he had on his desk, and pulled up his record.

"Don't tell _anybody_ i showed you this." He spoke.

His record for his time in Raccoon City was relatively short, but they were very major things.

"Involvement in drug trafficking, illegal street racing, manslaughter…?" Judy looked at Nick. He understood the drug part, but the racing and manslaughter were separate stories he hadn't explained. Nick perked up.

"He explained he was framed! That's why he came to Zootopia in the first place; he could either be deported to another county, or he could be deranked from the force."

Bogo raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but Nick continued.

"He said when he became an officer, his parents revealed their involvement with trafficking; he explained all of this when we had a connection, and said he worked his tail off to fix the town he grew up in. But at one point, he was accused of killing someone without intent, and he chose to never look back…"

Bogo stood straight up, then crossed his arms.

"I'm trusting you Nick. But i'm keeping an eye on him."

Nick smiled as he nodded, and stood in formation opposed to Bogo.

"Well, now that i've got answers from the only members who connect to him, i feel a little better…" Bogo exhaled as he looked through the blinds of his office windows.

"You two are excused. I am sorry for causing any issue within your day."

Judy smiled, nodding her head.

"No problem, Chief!" Nick did the same, then walked toward the door, holding it open for Judy as she walked back waving.

They walked back to their break room, and Judy happily pushed the thought of Miles' possible homicide out of her mind, but Nick had a feeling in the pit of his stomach; he wasn't sure if he had done it out of self defense, or he was just a cold-blooded killer.

(AUTHORS THOUGHTS)  
******OH MY GOD THIS TOOK SO LONG TO MAKE. Do me a favor and follow, because i don't know if i can keep up lengthy chapters like this. Here is a link to what Miles's likes and dislikes are, and ill throw my playlist link in too, just to show you what i listen to as i come up with new chapters. Thank you all for viewing, ill send another chapter in the next couple of days.*****

Likes and dislikes:  
document/d/13Bph7-68LVbjZovVdWBtYDwYoNfolXJR0u0Sx-e3-xI/edit?usp=sharing  
(Copy and paste these, i've tried to hyperlink them, but it's a pain to format them correctly.)

YouTube Playlist:  
watch?v=Vsy1URDYK88&index=7&list=PLnRcqzMhd-WQpTpEhfIk_Z18F8tA1-Rxp&shuffle=1314


	8. Chapter 8

(AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS)  
****I didn't have any ideas for action this chapter, but i did have some revelation for each connection between character. Next chapter will kick it up a notch, i swear.  
Last chapter had explained how Miles's recovery went, along with how the connection between Nick and Judy slowly mended over time. They ended up going on a date, and Nick even got courageous enough to kiss her, even with the fear of discrimination for cross-species dating. The next day, Chief Bogo finds some old files of Miles's job history in Raccoon City, and now everybody has become tense around him. ****

CHAPTER 8:

Two weeks had passed since everything that went on. Judy periodically visited Miles in the hospital with Nick, both of them connecting back to what they were in the first place before he had shown up. He clearly showed much more connections with both of them, explaining bits and pieces of his past, slowly getting to the brink of why he _really_ left. But he never got to that point, and by the time his days in the hospital ended, he already felt like nothing had ever happened to him. Nick had that feeling in his stomach the whole entire week and a half, but it slowly died down the more he saw him. Judy was completely out-of-mind on the topic of his accusations, so she had nothing much to worry about. Their time at the station was also relatively easy; only a few chases, a couple of assaults and nothing more. Bogo was even relaxed; he felt that the two partners had everything in control, and was willing to welcome him back next meeting. Judy had asked Nick a question about what he was going to do when Miles left the hospital.

"Honestly, i don't know. I've got a few bucks… Maybe we can go out for drinks?"

Judy narrowed her eyes.

"Nick, we both know what happened the last time we drank."

Nick nodded then looked out the car window, toward the other cars driving down the highway.

"Hey, guess they opened the doors to the warehouse."

A old building that looked like a project resided on the edge of the freeway, a two lane road leading from it, with the gate opened.

"Why would they open a broken down building to the public?" Judy asked.

Nick shrugged. "You have his backpack, right?"

"Yep!" She pointed her thumb to the back of the cruiser, showing Miles's bag sit on the seat.

They drove a little bit longer down the freeway, leading up to the exit toward sahara square, where the hot, humid air began to kick in. As they drove on the road toward the hospital Nick switched on the AC and asked,

"Is that him?"

Judy nodded, seeing Miles stand in his now, clean clothing from the couple of weeks before. He waved at them, and Judy pulled up, honking the horn. Nick opened the window.

"Sir, we're gonna have to ask you to step in the vehicle."

Miles stuck his tongue out.

"You'll never take me alive!"

He stepped into the back of the cruiser, and buckled his seat in, grabbing ahold of his bag and shuffling through it. He found everything he needed, and found something else.

"Hey, when did this get here?"

It was a small keychain that carried an emerald, along with a amethyst gem.

"Nick thought we should get you a little surprise when you got back, so we figured it was something to show you we appreciate having you as our partner!"

Miles grinned. "Ah dang, how am i supposed to pay you guys back?"

Nick spoke, looking toward the road.

"Don't worry about it buddy, it's a gift! You don't need to get us back-"

"Actually," Judy cut in, "We were thinking of going to dinner, you can pay us back by joining us."

"Sure!" Miles answered. "But i need you to drop me off at the station, i need to shower and change."

Judy wanted to volunteer her house, but she didn't want Nick getting the wrong idea again. She really did just want to help, and she never saw anything wrong with helping someone of the opposite gender, especially of a different species. She chose to agree, knowing he would feel better anyway.

"Alright, do you need anything else?"

"Nah, i might talk to the chief and ask him about what i can do to make up for lost time, but other than that, i'll just be waiting until tonight to go out with you guys."

Judy nodded into the mirror, and drove straight to the station. When they arrived, Miles hopped out the back of the cruiser with his bag and waved.

"I'll meet you guys up later, where are we gonna be?"

"Outback grazehouse!" Judy called, "It's on the island past sahara square, so we can give you a ride if you would like!"

Miles nodded, and gave a thumbs up, walking into the station. Nick then took off his seatbelt.

"Wait, where are you going?" Judy asked.

"I have to use the bathroom," he answered, leaving the vehicle and closing the door. He spoke through the open window.

"Don't worry, i'm gonna be there too, just let me run to my place to get ready as well!"

Judy nodded.

"Okay, see you tonight at eight, Nikki!"

Nick grinned and smacked the side of the cruiser, sending Judy on her way.

Miles was in the restroom, using the urinal as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back.

"How's the flow?"

Miles nearly jumped away, but shook and realised it was just Nick, also using the urinal.

"Damn, there were three other urinals! Why the one next to me?" He complained.

Nick finished, then answered, looking at Miles.

" 'Cause i know how much that irritates other guys!"

Nick laughed and used the sink, after Miles finished up and did the same.

"Guess i'll have to get you back somehow…" Miles commented, smiling.

Nick left, then Miles went to the back of the restroom where the showers were. He didn't hesitate, just quickly stripped himself and cleaned as much as he could. He didn't get to use one very much when he was at the hospital, but now that he had the chance, he took it, washing his fur, the rest of his tail, his ears, and his arms and legs. When he finished, he shuffled through his bag, looking for his uniform. Once he slid the entire outfit on with ease, he walked to Bogo's office, and knocked on the door.

"Chief? It's me, Miles."

The room stayed silent. Miles slowly opened the door, walking in.

"Captain Feral, at your service. Wha-?"

Bogo sat in his desk, listening to gazelle's latest track, " _Me enamore."_

"Captain!" He quickly shut off his smartphone and sat straight up, a slightly concerned look on his face. Miles was willing to question, but chose to forget it.

"You know, i'm just gonna ignore that- Chief, i came to apologize for the days i've missed. I was wondering if there was anything i could do to make up for it."

Bogo grinned.

"You expect to do more work, even though you were off after an _on-the-job_ injury?"

Miles kept a straight face.

"Yeah…? Is that a bad thing?"

Bogo denied it.

"Oh, no no no, it's just that, i'm confused on why you haven't asked for your compensation check."

Miles stayed quiet, willing to learn something new.

"You see, when an officer gets injured on the job, _like you and your tail_ , you're entitled to a compensation check; that's basically tax dollars apologizing for putting you on the front lines, and getting in harm's way on the line of duty!"

Miles nodded, then asked.

"So, where do i go to get it?"

"Go speak to Mr. Clawhauser at the front desk downstairs. He'll pay you appropriately."

Miles nodded and left the room, and stood in front of where Clawhauser was, scrolling through his social media page.

"Uh, mister Clawhauser?" He leaned in onto the desk.

Clawhauser looked away from his computer and noticed who it was. He gasped, and attempted to keep his cool.

"Oh, Captain! I am so sorry for being off task, here, what do you need?!"

His voice was frantic, but Miles stood back up, and held his hands up.

"Hey, hey! Take it easy!" He chuckled out of his worriedness. "Look, the chief told me to talk to you about getting my check."

"Oh yeah! Here, let me get that written down for you!"

He brought out a ZPD Checkbook, and scribbled down his name, the date, and the amount he was admitted. Miles looked away for a moment, and then Benjamin slid him the check.

"Here you go, if you're leaving, just let me know and i can check you out for the day, mmkay?"

He placed his paws on his cheeks then smiled as he looked at Miles.

"Y-yeah…" He smiled and nodded, then noticed the number of his check.

"Hey, is this a typo…?" There was a phone number on where the "Amount" line was.

Benjamin giggled, then pulled another check with the real number on it, also answering his question with a _half-joke_ tone.

"Yeah… sorry about that, i was trying to remember my new phone number!"

He lied. He just wanted to see if Miles would take the bait, so he slid him the real check. Miles did, looking at the number, then chuckling.

"Alright. Thank you Clawhauser."

He then called out to Miles as he walked away.

"You can call me Ben if you'd like!"

Miles heard, then caught a much better picture of what was going on. He looked at the check with the cell number on it, the walked back to the desk, with Clawhauser now looking back on the computer. Miles placed the check he wrote the first time down, and looked at him.

"Alright Ben," He started. Clawhauser looked away from his computer, then noticed the check with his number on it. He then looked up at Miles, who had a small grin on his face.

"I admire your tenacity at trying something like this, but unfortunately, i don't have a cell."

He shrugged, and Clawhauser looked away slowly with a small smile.

"It was a clever idea though." Miles winked just to surprise him, and Benjamin covered his mouth in embarrassment, now blushing with his cheetah spots turning to an orange-ish yellow.

"Call me Miles from now on, okay?" he smiled, and walked away, taking the check back just to be nice. Benjamin then fluttered his hand in happiness, and then watched Miles leave the building.

After leaving the station, he read the amount of cash on the check in amazement.

"1,500?! Jesus i just lost a tail, i didn't even break a bone-"

He paused, forgetting he had several within his tail. Staying silent, he looked around town for a place to buy new clothes for the date.

"I wonder if Nick has any knowledge of dress stores in town…" he said.

He chose to walk toward the lobos van at the end of the city, where Finnick and Nick stayed. Knocking on the door, he called out again.

"It's Miles! Don't pull a gun on me again Finnick!"

A lock could be heard opening, and Nick was standing there, wearing a white tank top and shorts.

"Hey pal! Come in, we're just trying to beat the heat!"

Miles looked into the van, and saw Finnick, sitting down and watching the television on the wall of the cab. He slowly walked in, ducking his head and taking a seat by the dresser and mini fridge. Nick then closed the back and reached into the fridge asking,

"You want a drink? We've got some whiskey and brandy."

"Water?"

Nick nodded and pulled a water bottle out for him, tossing it as he closed the door. Miles caught it with ease.

"So why did you swing by?" Nick asked.

He took a long drink from the bottle, letting it cool his system.

"I came down to see if you knew any good clothing stores. Things like suits and designer clothing."

Nick scoffed.

"Regular aint enough for you?"

"No, i just wanna look nice for tonight." he grinned.

Nick nodded and closed his eyes with the heat irritating him.

"Alright, but we're gonna have to walk through _this,_ to get you there."

He twirled his finger up in the air.

Miles nodded, and stood back up, holding his hand out.

"Well, let's get going! It isn't gonna get any cooler!"

Nick grabbed his hand and stood up, wiping his forehead with the back of his other hand.

They walked to the center of town, where a large building displayed several suits and dresses in the windows. Nick stood in front of the display, with a look of uncertainty on his face, while Miles was already on his way to the door. He stopped and looked at Nick, wondering what he was up to.

"Well? We aren't here to window shop, are we?" Miles asked.

Nick shook his head. "I figured i might have picked the wrong place…" He chuckled nervously.

Miles grinned and reached into his pocket, pulling out the check he received. He handed it to Nick, and his expression lit up.  
"Fifteen?! Jeez, you've only been here for two weeks!"

"I know," He added. "He said most of that is compensation for my injuries."

Nick handed him the check back, and Miles then left the door open for Nick to walk through.

The building's first floor lived up to what the display promised; sophistication, class, style. Slim-fit suits to trench coats were displayed with several different combinations of vests and jackets as they both walked through the store. A giraffe could be seen in the dressing area, and Miles couldn't help but crack a smile at how his head and neck towered over the other areas. He leaned over to Nick whispering.

"Do you think he's in heaven whenever he uses the middle room?"

Nick snickered when he understood the point Miles made.

They walked through the store for several minutes, taking a look at different combinations; Miles wasn't sure if he wanted a bowtie or a regular suit vest, or if he even needed a jacket in the first place. Over time, he caught Nick looking at the price tags of some combinations, but didn't say a word. He spoke up when they went through the same aisle for the third time, and Nick looked at the same suit as before.

"That one catch your eye?" Miles asked.

Nick looked away and quickly retrieved his hands from the suit.

"Yeah…" He nodded, smiling. "I'm thinking of getting something nice as well, next chance i get."

It was a cotton-polyester blend, complete with microfibre nylon being weaved into the black colored satin. Light could shine off the suit if agled the right way, and it felt somewhat stretchable.

Miles stood up and picked the suit off the rack, reading the price tag.

"$350? That isn't bad…" He pushed the suit into Nick.

"Go try it on."

Nick looked down at the suit, then catched it, looking back at Miles.

"Why?"

"So we can see if it looks good on you."

Nick looked back at the suit and nodded, but the moment he turned around, a loud "ahem" was heard. Nick and Miles both looked around trying to find out what it was, and then a voice spoke.

"Down here."

Nick looked below and realised that a muskrat was standing in front of him, wearing a tuxedo of his own. Nick chuckled and apologized for the unseen moment, and the muskrat checked up.

"Are you two finding everything alright?"

Miles answered.

"Yeah! I'm just taking a look at what your combinations are, and my buddy Nick, here, was about to go and test that tuxedo."

The muskrat smiled at the sight of new customers.

"Well, there is a mix and match deal, where you can pick each and every piece of clothing you desire! As for your friend here, there is a small fee for fitting new suits on; Its policy we need to follow…"

Miles nodded.

"Understandable. Don't want every suit smelling like somebody else, i don't blame you."

They laughed, then Miles asked,

"How much is the fee?"

"Ten dollars."

Nick put the suit back and answered.

"Whelp, i guess i'll have to come back another day-"

"I'll pay. Can it go along with the purchase of my suit?"

Nick stared at Miles in confusion, and the muskrat answered.

"Only if that same suit is being bought."

"Deal."

Nick then glared at Miles.

"Perfect! Come, come, i'll help you with our mix and match deal!"

Miles began to follow, but Nick whispered at Miles.

"You didn't have to do that!"

Miles smiled.

"I have to get you guys back somehow!"

About a half an hour passed by and Nick tested the suit, feeling free and comfortable within the polyester mesh. Miles finished his suit decision as well, coming out in a steel-shaded tux, wearing a black bowtie. He noticed Nick's choice of black.

"You look sharp."

"Thanks. You too." He shifted his jacket.

They walked to the back of the store, where the meerkat was standing behind the counter, ready to take the cask Miles had for both suits. Nick placed his hand on Miles's shoulder and spoke.

"Hey, thanks. I don't know how you do this without even blinking after making the decision, but it means alot to me."

Miles smiled as he handed the check to the cashier.

"Anytime. You guys helped me, this is the least i could do."

The bill came out to be $450, and Miles smiled as he got the check back. They were handed bags with their previous clothes, and greeted with "Thank you! Have a nice day!"

The heat died down as the day passed, and Nick went back to the Lobos getting ready for the date that night. Miles went back to Judy's house to drop his bag off, and let her know they had their outfits ready. He knocked, then slowly entered.

"Judy? I'm here. I just came by to drop my stuff off and pass time."

"Coming!" She said from upstairs.

Miles placed the bag next to his backpack and briefcase, looking toward the stairs, and seeing Judy wearing her choice of outfit.

She wore a midnight purple dress that had shoulder straps, and it hugged her body comfortably. She wasn't wearing makeup, but her figure looked very slim, fitted, very natural with the dress she wore. She didn't wear heels, but shoes that made her stand a little bit taller than before. Her ears were down as well, and she smiled as she stood by the stairs.

"You look nice." He complimented, smiling.

"Thank you! You look actually very sharp."

Miles nodded, then shifted his jacket, taking it off, and hanging it onto the coat hanger next to the door.

"Anyway, i just came by to kill time and talk. Unless you're still getting ready, i understand."

"Oh no, it's fine! Here, i can make us something to drink before we all go out."

She walked to the kitchen, and Miles followed, slowly taking a seat as she grabbed two cups and made tea. Miles sat quietly and looked out the window as she filled the glasses with water, and she chose to ask a question.

"Hey, can i ask you something, Miles?" She looked away from the sink.

"What's on your mind?"

She paused, but chose to ask anyway.

"If i'm poking at something i shouldn't be, then feel free to say no, but…"

Miles questioned.

"Whats up?"

"What do you have in that briefcase…?"

Miles looked back at the couch next to his bags and case, and looked back at Judy. He smiled and answered.

"I'll show you."

He stood up and slowly picked up the briefcase, also carrying his gun bag. Judy already knew about the briefcase, but had no clue what was in the other container. He slowly set both down on the table, but put the briefcase on the edge. Judy walked over to the table, and watched him open it.

"This," He spoke, opening the container and pulling out the handgun, "Is a .357 Desert Fox, Manufactured and sold by Egyptian Mongoose Weapon Industries." He slid the magazine out with ease and unloaded the chamber, locking the slide in place, and showing it to Judy. He slowly rotated the handgun for all angles, giving the gold a chance to shine as Judy admired the handgun for a second time. Miles then pushed it toward Judy.

"Go ahead, hold it."

She looked at Miles and slowly took the gun from him. She admired the way the bolt within the chamber looked, along with how massive the gun itself was in her hands.

"There are three total conversions, i believe. The model i have is .357 because i don't want to spend so much money on ammunition for it. That's why i have three other magazines." He looked at the case. Judy asked another question.

"What are the other two conversions?"

Miles smiled as he explained.

"There is the .44, which packs more stopping power for one less round in the mag, and if you want nothing but power, then the .50AE is the one you are looking for."

"AE?" She asked.

"Action Express. It's just a smaller version of a .50 caliber bullet."

Judy nodded, then handed him the gun, now asking why the other vessel was on the table.

Mies reloaded his handgun, sliding the action back in place, and locking up his briefcase, and setting it on the ground. The bigger case was also locked, but with a combination. He entered six numbers, and popped up the case, revealing a large firearm.

"This is my rifle. A 7.62 by 39 millimeter battle rifle." He pulled the gun out of the case, unloading the magazine, then placing his hand on the casing slide.

"Catch." He joked as he opened the slide. A round flew out, and judy quickly scampered to catch it, placing it back on the table with surprise. She admired the rifle in his hands, with a polymer black and gunmetal gray tone to it.

"What is the name of this one?" She asked.

"This is the Special Combat Assault Rifle. It's nickname, or acronym, is SCAR. This is the heavy model as well. The light version fires 5.56 by .45 millimeter, also letting it carry more rounds."

Judy nodded in amazement as she noticed the length of the barrel.

"You have these registered with the chief, right?"

"Yup." He answered. "He said i am free to use these on duty if need be."

She smiled at how awesome it was to know someone with a large amount of firepower.

It was around eleven at night when all three of them went to dine. Judy got to explain her story on why she wanted to be an officer, and explained her motives at the time. Nick always make Miles and Judy laugh and Miles also got to explain the brighter side of living where he used to. He was finishing his dessert as Judy spoke.

"...But after Gideon had given me crap about it, i chose to stand up to him. Next thing you know, we ended up being friends because of his partnership with my parent's business."

Miles finished his mouthful of cake and nodded.

"That's a heck of a reason. Did your parents root for you?"

Nick chuckled and answered.

"Jeez you should have seen her dad's reaction when she had to work with me!"

Judy shrugged toward Nick, smiling.

"Honestly, i think they were afraid for me, but they're much more accepting about it, so that's all i'm grateful for."

"Huh, it wasn't bad though, was it?" Miles asked.

Judy took a drink from her glass and answered.

"Well, they were strongly against it, so, i guess?"

She chuckled, and Miles drank the rest of his glass.

"Well, the important thing is that you were able to do what you love."

Judy nodded then asked, putting her hand on her cheek and her elbow on the table.

"What drove you? I mean, what made you want to be an officer?"

Miles looked into his glass, then looked up, shaking his head and answering.

"Uhh, just a bad environment, things like family, gangs, drugs…"

He swished his glass, then stood up from his seat.

"Hey, it's almost 11:30, we better get going."

Judy nodded, then stood up as well, leaving a tip for the waiter, but Miles cut her off.

"I got it." He quickly placed a ten on the table, and Nick followed alongside the others.

They left the building, and Miles was a couple of feet ahead, but Judy lagged behind with Nick.

"I didn't bring up anything too harsh, did i?" She whispered.

Nick spat the toothpick he had out and shook his head.

"No, he already had to explain the story to me, i think you'll need to give him time to do that."

Judy nodded and they kept walking, but Nick called out to both of them, being farther behind.

"Hey, i'm gonna head home alright? You two have a good night!"

Judy waved and Miles called out with a thumbs up.  
"Alright, stay safe Nick, tell Finnick i said 'hey'!"

He nodded and walked down the opposite road, and Judy ran up to Miles's side.

"Hey, i just wanted to say sorry for, you know…"

"What?"

"What i asked you earlier…" She looked away rubbing her ears on the back of her head.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I just need to get over it as soon as possible."

She looked at him. "You promise?"

He nodded, looking straight ahead.

"Yeah. I promise."

They were quiet for part of the walk. Miles decided to speak up.

"Can i, show you something tomorrow…?"

Judy didn't understand.

"What do you mean?"

"I want to take you somewhere special tomorrow. It'll help me explain every issue i've got, as well as grab a few things while we're there."

Judy nodded, in slight confusion but understanding.

"Sure."

(AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS)  
****I was afraid this chapter was gonna be really slow. I apologize for that, but ill make it up next chapter. I can't say much, but all i will explain, is that the new drug kicks in.****


	9. Chapter 9

(AUTHOR'S NOTES)

*****There was a song that stuck with me during a piece of this chapter. "Language" by Porter Robinson is the name of it, and i felt like it had mixed perfectly with the middle section of this chapter. i'll leave a ^ so you can see where it fits.

Last chapter, Miles recovered from his injuries and tried to explain himself within two weeks. Over time, Nick started to lose the scared feeling about him, and they decide to help each other out. Miles goes to a tuxedo store for himself and Nick, to go somewhere to eat with Judy. They all have a blast, and Nick ends up going home, while Miles explains why he was so shallow at the diner. He then explains that if they go back to Raccoon City to pick something up, he can go to his "Special place"; where it makes it easier for him to explain his situation.*****

CHAPTER 9:

Nick woke up, still wearing his dress shirt and pants. He rubbed his face with both hands after grabbing ahold of the dashboard, looking at the time.

"Hey, Nikki!" Finnick called out, knocking on the passenger door. "I need to drive to a place, i'mma 'bout to make a delivery!"

He rubbed his eyes, then stretched, yawning.

"Delivery for what?"

Finnick ran to the other side of the van with the car keys in his hand. Nick scooted to passenger side and looked at him as he sat.

"I gotta deliver some packages, and i need your help to do it."

Nick stared at Finnick, as he started the van. He looked back.

"What? Man, don't judge me, i'm jus' tryna get by."

"Are you doing illegal work? Because you know i can't-"

"Nah nah nah. I'm just runnin' an errand for a friend."

He winked with another cigarette in his mouth, and Nick rolled his eyes, resting his cheek on his hand.

"You know i could lose my job for this." He said in a straight tone.

"That's why you ain't comin' with. Don't worry, it's just a couple of packages we can throw in the back."

They drove to a very shady part of Zootopia. Building projects were all over the place, and broken down vehicles were up and down several roads. Nick notices several other animals wearing torn jackets and clothes, missing parts of their fur, sometimes left with scars. Others were just shaking and giving nods everywhere they looked. Nick kept his eyes around them and asked Finnick,

"Jeez, why couldn't we have them meet us in town?"

Nick turned into an entrance for an abandoned warehouse as he answered,

" 'Cause it's a _delivery_ , Nick." He chuckled as he tossed his cigarette out the window, and stopped to turn the van around, now backing the van to the large garage door. He stopped the van and looked at Nick, putting on sunglasses.

"Alright, i'll be out in a few minutes, just stay here, and don't draw any attention."

Nick nodded in annoyance.

"M'kay, take your time."

Finnick then looked at Nick through the window, and cursed him under his breath, closing the door. Nick looked into the rear-view mirror and saw him walk into a door next to the main entrance, and then looked ahead. The road they drove from was empty, and dust from sahara square flew its way over on their side, giving an _empty_ feeling. He looked at the back door again through the mirror, then saw two large panthers leave in a slow, but hatful looking manner, toward the van. Nick ignored it and looked straight ahead, but quickly locked the doors by leaning to the driver side. He then sat straight up, and payed no attention to the two panthers walking closer.

One stood in front of the door of the passenger side, jiggling the handle. Nick jumped, but looked at the panther smiling. He growled in anger, and nodded at the other panther on the driver side, who nodded back, and punched the window, breaking the glass with ease. Nick yelped in surprise as the panther began to press the unlock button, but he kicked at the panther, landing his foot on his nose. Finnick could be heard in the background calling out.

"Fuck! My van! Nikki, run!"

Nick tried to escape by pushing the door against the van, but instead, Nick was caught by his shirt, and thrown out of the van. He scrambled to his feet, but was tripped after being caught by his leg. Nick kicked and yelled in anger but he was subdued by the second panther, hitting him in the back of the head with a bat.

"Come on, Judy! You can do it!" Miles called out, on the top of a large rock. They wore very thin clothes, because the heat that kicked in was very high. Judy climbed her way up, and was assisted by Miles's hand. They stood up, and looked at a sign near a dirt road, leading away from Zootopia.

"Raccoon City, .5 miles." Judy said.

"We're almost there. There's just a few things i need to grab, and we can go to that spot i was talking about, alright?"

"Yeah," She said. "But i don't understand, why do you want to grab your things if they are in the one place you hate the most?"

Miles kept walking toward the city, and stretched his arms away from his body, side to side.

"I had lived in a small storage unit when i moved away from my parents. No place would let me live on my own at 18, and i guess it's because i was in police academy, but i made the most of it."

Judy looked ahead at the small town, showing the broken windows of buildings, the very few cars driving around, several things made the place feel unsafe. A long part of the walk took most of the day out of it, leaving them with a 7:00 sunset. They finally walked into the border of the town, and Miles pointed down a road.

"My unit is over here, i think i can still get into it, if the key is still where i left it."

"Wait," Judy asked. "You didn't keep the key?!"

"Relax!" Miles assured. "I kept it well hidden."

They walked to a heavily guarded gateway, showing barbed wire spanning around the fences top, and a "one-way" sign hanging lopsided. Miles opened the door with ease, signaling Judy to walk through.

It was funny for Miles when he walked through the city; he felt like such an outlier, along with Judy standing next to him. She wore a pale blue shirt and shorts, carrying a backpack with her. Miles wore gray cargo shorts, a white t-shirt, and a brown overshirt. The colors they wore felt like a big contrast between them and their environment, with everything feeling dull and dark, old and dusty. Miles searched for a rock along the ground, next to several storage units. He found a large smooth rock, and lifted it, revealing an old key with dirt covering it, and a marker on the chain, showing his number.

"Unit 46, up here." He walked toward a large door ess than a few yards away from them. The lock was still intact, but it was heavily covered in rust and dirt. Swiping all of it off, Judy questioned.

"How did you stay warm during the winter?"

Miles snapped the lock off, then looked back at Judy with a grin.

"This is why."

He slowly lifted the door up, halfway, then threw the rest of the door up, revealing only two things.

There was a cardboard box to the left of the unit, and a car. A fast looking car, in fact. The design was a sleek orange with carbon fiber fins, and a large spoiler in the back, with a stripe falling across the whole entire vehicle, in matte black.

"A car?" Judy said.

"Not just any car. This is my Viper. A model ACR-X."

Judy slowly walked into the storage unit, admiring the car, while Miles dragged his hand across the hood. The paint wasn't even touched by dust, and there were no signs of wear and tear at all. He placed his hand on the roof, and looked at Judy, who was on the other side of the car.

"Want to see the interior?" He grinned.

"Sure." She had a look of surprise on her face.

Miles slowly opened the door, allowing the _good time_ vibe pass through him. His fur spiked, and Judy noticed. She giggled.

"Chills?" she asked.

"Nah." He answered smiling. "Just nostalgia."

He slowly sat in the car, and leaned back into the seat, as Judy noticed the connection he had with the vehicle.

"Miles?"

He looked ahead, still smiling.  
"Yeah."

She was very worried about asking, but she had to know.

"When you were in the hospital, and those weeks passed by, you told me about all of these stories you had with the group you were apart of…"

He sat up comfortably, and nodded, looking at her.  
"Yeah, what about them?"

She paused, then looked away.

"Bogo had pulled up your files…" She closed her eyes. " And had some info on things you did."

Miles felt his stomach drop, but he kept his cool.

"Things like what?" he asked, now his smile gone, looking ahead.

"Things like, illegal racing…"

There was silence, and Miles was waiting for more, but Judy stayed silent, shaking her head, waiting for an answer. Miles then bursted out laughing from her "only" question.  
"Ah, that was because i was late for work, and i ended up speeding in this thing." He patted the steering wheel, but didn't let go. "Then it turned out, i went down the same road as some other racers trying to make money. Guess they assumed i was part of that, and i didn't want to be, but i ended up taking the blame for something i didn't do."

Judy smiled in relief, sitting back in her seat.

"Okay… I was just worried, that was all."

Miles nodded happily, then closed the door. Judy then turned her head toward him.

"Wait, i thought there were a couple of things you needed to get?"

Miles pointed his thumb to the back of the car, and Judy looked back, noticing an amplifier with an electric guitar.

"Oh." She turned back around, and Miles nodded.

^ "Okay," He spoke. "Let's hope this thing is still up for it."  
He pulled down the sun blocker, and the car keys fell out, landing in his other hand. Slowly putting it into the ignition, he turned the key.

The engine gave a sputter, but after a second, purred like new. Miles bew an exhale of air out of his system, and Judy smiled at his relief.

"Buckle up." He said, sticking the car into drive. Judy did as she was told, and sat still, with her hands in her lap, as Miles drove with one hand out of the storage unit, past the gate, and onto the road. He then gave the engine more gas, sending it flying down the long road they walked. Miles knew the drive was gonna be shorter than walking, but no shorter than an hour. Judy looked out the window, noticing all the old buildings of Raccoon city, fly past them in a haze of gray and white. Miles smiled the entire time. He felt the wind rush through his fur as he opened the window a small bit, and Judy enjoyed the feeling as well. The bright orange and yellow rays of light beamed down on the car, making the colors shine even more as they sped down. Miles chose not to take the off ramp toward Zootopia, but instead take the scenic route toward it, admiring the mix of marble blue and sunset orange battle in the sky. He took a deep breath and slowed down, turning off the road, onto the path of a cliff. Judy noticed, and looked at the dashboard of the car, showing almost no resistance from the ground. He slowed down to a complete stop, and unbuckled himself, leaving the car with a, "Come on."

Judy slowly exited the car, leaving her bag, and standing next to him.

"This." He started. "This is my reason for leaving."

Judy looked over the cliff, and noticed the entire city of Zootopia, but this time, at a much better time of day, and a different area. The lights of the sun reflected off of the glass windows on most buildings, shining bright off of others. Judy felt her heart fill with happiness at the sight, covering her mouth at the beautiful view. She almost shed a tear, and Miles spoke again.

"I don't really remember what it was that possessed me to find Zootopia so attracting, but there was something aside from leaving Raccoon City that got to me."

Judy looked into the sky and noticed that stars were beginning to shine.

"Maybe it was the sense of freedom. Or maybe it was just the way the place looked on the nights i needed to, get away?"

"Get away?" Judy asked.

"From… Family, people, stress. This was a place i would use as a reliever; helps me collect my thoughts, and understand how the world really works." Miles then walked back to the car, and sat on the hood, keeping his hands in his pockets.

"Was there ever anyone else that would join you?"

Miles looked down, kicking his foot into the dirt and trying to explain. He then gazed at the stars, answering in a slightly strained manner.

"There was, this kitten i used to know." He blinked slowly, remembering every little detail about her. "Her name was Carrie, and we were really close. Like, we could joke about anything and still find each other laughing. I swear, the first time i had ever met her was through this videogame that i would play, and there was a game chat option with it. I ended up meeting her online, and we became really fond of eachother."

Miles laughed and looked at the ground, something sparkling in his eye. Judy slowly sat on the hood of the vehicle as well, looking at him.

"The first time i heard her voice… All i could say to myself was 'that's so freaking adorable'!"

Judy giggled, and Miles rubbed his eye, looking back into the now night sky. He inhaled and sighed through his nose and continued.

"Next thing you know, we started to fall for eachother…" His voice got quieter. "And, we talked, and we laughed, and one day, she just stopped…"

Judy was attached to Miles's story.

"What happened?"

"She had found out that… Well…"

He put his hands behind him on the hood and leaned back.

"I don't really trust the internet. So i use a fake identity. I was originally known online as Frederick Parry. I explained i was also a cat as well. But i guess, i was too caring, and too open, and i just lost her… all because i was afraid of how she would think of me as a fox."

There was the topic again; Cross-species dating. Judy felt her heart tear in two with a mix of her own issues, along with Miles's struggle. She placed her hand on his, and noticed that his eyes were wet.

"Miles… Thank you for telling me-"

He slowly pulled his hand away, standing up and speaking.

"I guess i just need to understand that she was too far away to understand."

She stood up as well, standing next to him.

"No, seriously. I'm glad you opened up…" Miles tried to ignore her, but he knew it was there. He hung his head, closing his eyes and clenching his fists.

"I just wish i didn't lie."

Judy held her hand up, wanting to hold his shoulder, but she stayed where she was, and Miles opened his eyes, again. He looked back into the sky, and eased the tension in his hands, placing them into his pockets. He started to sing a small tune.

" _Give me, re-lease. Let the waves of time and space surround me, yeah. 'Cause i need, room to breathe. Let me flow back to the place you found me…"_

He closed his eyes and turned around to the car, entering the vehicle. Judy soon followed, and did the same. He put the car in reverse, and drove to the dirt road, but Judy spoke.

"Miles?" She said softly.

He looked straight ahead, without any pain or happiness on his face.

"I'll be okay."

He blasted the engine as they sped down the last mile.

Nick was bound and gagged on a chair sideways on a floor. His ears were the only sense he had left, so when he heard something, he listened carefully. He ended up staying this way for an hour, before being freed by one of the panthers. He was sat up, the ropes cut from his wrists, and the gag torn from his snout. The first animal he saw in front of him was Finnick.

"Bro, i just wanted to say, i'm really sorry i let this happen to ya!" He walked closer to Nick, who was climbing up from the floor. "They didn't know i was fixin' to bring a helper, and they thought you was undercover. So i had to explain to them you was just taggin' along, with yo nose outta our buisness!" He tried to help Nick up, but Nick wrapped his hand around Finnick's throat, gritting his teeth as he spoke. The panther didn't do anything.

"I told you, over and over again. 'You know i can't be a part of your situation' _any way_ because i'll get fired!"

His grip got stronger, and Finnick began to claw at Nick's arm, gasping for breath.

"S-shit! N-nick! Uh! Let m-me go!"

"You didn't listen to me, Finn. So tell me why i should listen to you?" His green eyes were now ablaze. Hatred flowed through his system as his grip was at max, and Finnick began to croak.

"Because if you kill him, i'll kill you." The panther said, now holding a gun to Nick's head. Nick didn't flinch, and looked toward the direction of the panther. He let go of Finnick, who was now gulping deep breaths of air. He coughed and gagged, but finally got his breathing track on a rhythm. He held his throat as he spoke.

"Nikki i'm sorry! Fuck, i didn't let them kill you, so be fucken grateful for that!"

"I didn't kill you either, tough guy!" He roared, and the gun was pushed into his head deeper, forcing Nick to shut up.

"Okay," Finnick said, now holding his hands out. "Let's talk this out. Eddie, put the gun down."

He squeezed the handle, but left the trigger be. He threw the gun to the ground.

"Alright." Finnick rubbed his throat. "Now listen, i can take this guy out of the building, alright? Just let me take care of him." He walked up to Nick, slowly grabbing ahold of his arm, but Nick forcefully threw Finnick's grip.

"Fuck off. I can walk out myself."

Finnick grabbed whatever packages he needed after ten minutes, and threw them into the back of the van, while Nick sat in the driver seat. Finnick walked to the door and looked at Nick.

"C'mon man, move."

"Get in the passenger seat." He answered.

"Bro just let me drive-" Nick slammed his fist on the dashboard and roared at Finnick.

"GET IN THE FUCKING PASSENGER SEAT, NOW!"

Finnick stayed quiet, and walked around the front of the van, and Nick started up the engine, setting the key to start, and buckling his seatbelt in. Finnick carefully stepped around the shattered glass, while wiping some shards off of the seat. He then sat down and buckled himself in, trying not to blow up at Nick. He then drove down the road, and back to their usual spot.

"I told you." Nick spoke up.

Finnick looked at Nick. "I know, man! Fuck, i fucked up, alright? Is that what you wanted to hear?!"

Nick stayed quiet, placing his hand on his mouth while he steered with his other.

"No. I wanted you to leave me alone. I don't even understand why you would want to have me help, when there were only three boxes you needed to take!"

Finnick's eyes peered out the window, and he regretted what he said.

" 'Cause if i told you what's inside, you would leave."

Nick stopped at a red light on a semi-empty road.

"The fuck do you mean 'Leave'?!" He answered.

"Leave, as in never see your only brotha again! Nick, aside from that Feral dude, you are th' only other fox i have seen in this town! God damn, we ain't even the same species and we treat eachother like siblings!"

Nick took a turn around the corner.

"Yeah, is it a surprise to you that siblings fight too?"

"No, but they work shit out, and they stick together!"

Nick drove the van back to the alleyway on the end of Zootopia, and stopped the car. He looked toward Finnick and unbuckled his belt.

"Well sometimes, they split for the better, Finn. Even you know that."

He exited the car, and Finnick followed.

"Well sometimes it's misundastood!"

Nick hopped into the back of the van, and pulled out his police outfit. Finnick saw, and jumped to conclusions.

"I know you ain't takin' me to jail."

"Shut up. I have to go to work."

Finnick stayed quiet, and Nick was about to jump out the back of the van, but he stubbed his foot on one of the boxed Finnick was transporting.

"Ow! What the hell is in here?!"

Finnick got worried. "Man, don't look in there!"

Nick opened the box and saw a quick glimpse of glass vials, containing a mix of purple and orange color. Finnick quickly closed the cardboard box in fear.

"Damn it, Nick! The fuck's wrong with you?!"

"You said you weren't doing anything illegal!"

"Yeah, because i'm not 'supposed to know' what's in here!"

Nick shoved him out of the way, fixing the tie on his dress shirt.

"If you get in trouble Finn," Nick stated, "You're on your own."

He left to the station at 9:30.

(AUTHOR'S NOTES)

*****Again, thank you all for reading. I think the -real- plot of the story is now beginning to unfold, and i hope you enjoy it just as much as i do. Ill have a new chapter ready in the next few days, so once again, thank you for waiting patiently.*****


	10. Chapter 10

(AUTHOR'S NOTES)  
******Stuck a 2-liter of soda into my system, had too much energy, and not enough to do, send help lol. Anyway, no special music came into my inspiration, but i did have this part as a highlight when the idea brewing in my brain came up. Enjoy. And don't forget to favorite and comment your favorite part on each chapter. Keeps me going. Otherwise, dew is gonna be my only fuel.

Last chapter, Nick had been dragged by Finnick to help him move some items of interest in exchange for a large amount of money. Nick gets captured and called a snitch, while Finnick gets him out of the situation. Meanwhile, Miles takes Judy back to his hometown; Raccoon city, where he promises he can explain more about himself when he grabs items of importance to him, and takes them both to his "Special place". There, he finds his car and drives to the cliff he went whenever he needed to "get away". Back again with Nick, he is released and Finnick gets into an argument about the lifestyle choices he's making, and why he's afraid to lose his "Brother"****** 

CHAPTER 10:

"You okay?" Judy asked Nick, who was asleep in the passenger seat. He awoke with a small jump, and looked at her, reassuringly.

"Yeah, i'm not sleeping, there was, just a bug in my eye so i'm trying to suffocate 'em!"

He closed his eyes again to try to prove his answer and Judy laughed.

"I don't blame you Nikki, it's only 1 A.M."  
Judy was driving the cruiser along the highway, keeping an eye out for any others speeding or causing issues.

"So, i think Finnick is up to something." Nick added, rubbing his eyes with one hand.

"When is he not? His name comes up every other day for minor issues."

"Something big." He explained.

"What, is he carrying body armor and a shotgun? I'd love to see him try to pump that thing." Judy smiled, but Nick rested his cheek on his palm.

"I saw these vials of purple and orange mixed into one. I'm not sure, but i think he's transporting stimulants."

"Wait, purple? Like nighthowler purple or something else?"

Nick thought back to when he saw it first.

"I think it was a darker shade… But it was mixed with something else so it was hard to tell."

"Well why didn't you try to take him in?" Judy questioned.

"Because… He's like family. Aside from Miles, Finn is the only other fox i can call a brother, because we get along so easy."

Judy kept driving, trying to relate.

"Plus, he brought up a point, saying that he 'didn't know what was in the box', so it's his little loophole if he gets in trouble."

Judy nodded, answering.

"Sly little bastard."

Nick looked at Judy, surprised.

"Okay miss Hopps, if all foxes are sly, then are all bunnies cute?"

Judy laughed and shook her head.

"I'm just teasing Nick! Finn does have a way with ideas though."

Nick shrugged, and noticed a white van gaining speed behind them, veering in and out of traffic.

"Hey, watch out, we have a cargo truck speeding."

"On it." Judy replied. She flicked a switch and the lights began to shine on top of the cruiser, a bright red and blue. The engine roared as she began to press her foot down deeper into the pedal. Vehicles all across the road began to drive to the end, but the white truck kept its speed. Nick used the consoles' receiver to call back to the station.

"10-33, we are on pursuit of a white van with the license plate, ' _JAWT-NSFW'"_

Ben replied in a happy manner after second of static.

"Alrighty Nick! I'll let the chief know!"

Nick rolled his eyes as they continued to chase the van down. At one point, they went off the main highway to the off ramp, but quickly turned last second to try to trick Judy while she drove. Nick began to get a weary feeling in his stomach, as they got closer to the van. Using the speakerphone system, Judy called into the microphone,

"Stop in the name of the ZPD!"

The white van kept driving, and its back doors flew open, revealing a goat carrying a machine gun. Bullets were spat out of the barrel while Judy swerved, attempting to duck her head at the same time. Nick did the same, and he yelped the word "Shit!" as he took cover. The spraying stopped, but Judy kept her foot on the pedal. She grabbed the consoles radio, and called to the station as she drove,

"10-57! I repeat, 10-57! Suspects are using firearms in a high-speed pursuit!"

Nick pulled out his firearm in return, and opened the window, shooting several rounds back at the van. The doors were closed after the machine gun was fired, and Nick sat back in the vehicle, reloading his handgun and commenting,

"Damn, so much for nine out of 15!"

The white van suddenly took an off ramp toward downtown Zootopia, driving into traffic as it weaved through. Judy followed with ease once again, as several vehicles responded to the alarm sounding. For a second time, the driver held his arm out of the door, and began to fire rounds out of a smaller machine gun at them. This time, the windshield cracked even more, causing more difficulty for Judy to see as she sped down the long roads. Nick quickly kicked the one piece windshield out with ease, allowing to help Judy drive. She looked at him with a frightened look.

"Hey, at least you can see when we drive!"

"Well that was our only defense against bullets, Nick!"

Judy then sped up against the van, ramming it against the bumper of her vehicle, while the van started to speed up even more. Nick pointed his weapon at the van's tires, attempting to flatten them as it drove. A small number hit, but it didn't stop the vehicle whatsoever. Judy immediately called for backup.

"10-25! I need backup! Is Captain on the line?!"

"10-7od Jude, he's not here right now."

"Then call him in! We need serious back up!"

Judy then attempted to tailgate the vehicle on the left side, swerving into the back tail light. The driver of the vehicle resisted, and Nick saw the figure of the driver in the mirror.

"Suspects are wearing black ski masks, one appears to be a goat, and the other is still incog!"

The receiver blared, and a frantic voice could be heard.

"Nick? Judy? It's Miles! What's the situation?!"

Judy called out as she drove.

"We are in pursuit of a white van that opened fire on us! Can you assist?"

"10-26, where are you guys?"

Judy saw the van's back door open again, and noticed the goat was now holding a shotgun. Nick ducked Judy's head down, in fear of her getting hurt, and began to steer for her. Shots flew into the vinyl seats as Nick looked behind him, and three more shots were blasted. Nick quickly looked back up, and shot back several times, while Judy poked her head back up to see.

"Holy crap! I'll just follow the sirens!" Miles yelled, quickly leaving the signal.

Judy continued to follow the suspects down the road, and the white van gave a screeching halt, as it turned to the left to another street, with less traffic. Judy lost traction and drove onto the sidewalk by accident, attempting to catch up with the vehicle. In a span of ten seconds, Judy lost about ten yards of space between them and the van.

"I'm out of ammo, give me your gun!" Nick yelled.

Judy obeyed, and un holstered her pistol for Nick to use. This time, the adrenaline set in, and he was able to shoot the hande of the door, causing the lock to fail and open one of the doors wide.

"Gotcha!" Nick yelled in triumph as he held both hands on his gun, and fired into the back of the van. A metal sheet guarded the driver and passenger, but Nick attempted to fire through it, remembering that their ammunition was Hollow-Pointed.

Once more, the van slowed down, and turned to the left, and Judy was ready, but as the corner came up, an individual jumped out to the road and landed onto the hood of the cruiser.

"Miles?!" Judy yelled.

"Miss me?!" He called out, slowly climbing onto the roof. He lied on his belly as he talked to both of them through the now empty windshield.

"I have an idea! Judy, you can jump high lengths, right?"

Nick looked at him annoyingly.

"Can she jump? Carrots is a freaking rabbit for cripes sake!"

"Perfect! Judy, i need you to let Nick drive!"

She fought back.

"Why?! I can drive just fine!"

"We need you to jump to the other vehicle and stop the driver manually!"

Judy looked at Nick with wide eyes, and Nick shrugged in agreement.

"Fine, i'll do it!"

She unbuckled herself from the seat, and let nick carefully take over, while she climbed to the side of the car and held onto the door. Then once Miles sat in the passenger seat, Judy climbed to the roof. After she lied on her belly, she called down to the two in the cab.

"Give me my gun!"

Nick reached into the floor of the car and found the pistol, attempting to hand it to Judy, but once she had reached for it, the van took a sharp left turn, and nick had to follow, dropping the gun and causing her to hold on with all of the fear pumping through her system.

"Great! You dropped my gun, Nick! What am i supposed to do, throw casings at them?!"

"Sorry Carrots, i had to keep up with the vehicle, at least you held on!-"

"Both of you stop arguing and just take this!" Miles yelled as he carefully handed her his Desert Fox.

"Your import?! What happened to your issued weapon?"

"I left it at home since i found out you were being shot at! Same firepower on both sides isn't gonna lead anywhere!"  
Judy took the gun and checked the magazine.

"Eight shots?" She asked.

"Plus one in the chamber! Now get ready to jump!" He yelled as Nick drove closer to the van's door. Judy braced herself, and stood to her feet, in a very low position, and before the bumpers touched, she jumped to the inside of the van, rolling and landing on her back. The gun was still in her hand, and the goat began to step closer to stop her. Judy sprang back up, but the goat quickly slapped the large pistol out of her hands, causing her to fight hand-to-hand.

He swung one fist, but Judy dodged it, grabbing the goats wrist and throwing him to the ground. He was now closer to the gun, and reached for it, but Judy ran to the gun in an attempt to stop him. He tripped her, causing her to fall to the opposite side of the van. He stood up with the gleaming gun in his hooves, ready to fire, but the van then turned a really sharp right, sending them both flying to the left of the van. The gun was shot, and the bullet missed her, but left a horrible ringing in her ears with the metal van bouncing the sound around. She stood back up, and the goat dropped the gun again, but tried to crawl his way to it. Judy kicked the gun away, then used the same foot to knock him out cold; landing a fiery rabbit foot on the front of his skull. He landed on top of a cardboard box with a thud.

She quickly walked her way to the back of the van after picking up the gun, and gave a thumbs up to Nick and Miles. They both whistled and cheered for Judy's success, and she began to climb on top of the van, with the handgun still in her left hand. After reaching the top, the road ahead carried several overhead bridges, and Judy had to duck and crawl her way to the front. There were bars on the top of the van, presumably meant for tying down cargo, so she used those to help her way up. The driver could see her ears fly through the wind on top though, so he immediately began to swerve the vehicle to the left and right. Judy held on for dear life as she did, and began to close her eyes in fear of falling. The swerving stopped after five long seconds, and she continued to the front, where she pointed to golden gun down and shot four rounds into the glass windshield. It cracked, but Judy gave a kick to make the driver lose focus. She shattered it, causing pieces to fly onto the road and into the cab of the van. Her foot was then grabbed by the masked individual, but Judy shot down, landing one round in the passenger's arm, and the other two into the hood of the car. The passenger yelped in pain, and Judy rotated her hips, kicking her way into the seats. The driver noticed, but kept his eyes on the road, while reaching for his machine-pistol. Judy immediately grabbed the gun, and threw it out the windshield, scratching her arm on shards of glass in the process. The passenger then grabbed her wrist, and then the gun, causing her to discharge a round into the roof.

She then looked ahead of the road, and saw the entrance of Little Rodentia, just waiting to be ransacked by a van breaking the speed limit.

Judy quickly pulled her wrist away, and punched the passenger in the snout, causing him to growl. He threw a punch back, but Judy deflected it, sending it to the metal wall behind the cab seats. The driver then pulled onto her collar, choking her as she fought back. She gave a kick several times, finally knocking the passenger driver out. Her kicks gave so much force, the impact the passengers skull received, had bounced from it, and cracked the doors window, almost shattering it. Judy then gave a backwards headbut with a yell, then turned around, slamming the butt of Miles's gun into the driver jaw, setting him unconscious. Judy looked ahead, and saw that Little Rodentia was no more than 300 meters away. Judy had to think fast, and pull the Emergency Brake, while stomping her foot on the manual brake, and attempting to keep the steering wheel under control.

The van then spun, sending it to its side, rolling everybody within around like a tumble dryer. Judy was thrown around like a rag doll as broken glass, trash, and other items flew around her. The van finally stopped, crashing about three feet over the gates of Little Rodentia.

Nick immediately stopped the car, and jumped out with Miles, both screaming her name.

"JUDY!"

She wasn't knocked out, but she was hurt. She tried to crawl her way out, while unbuckling the masked driver and passenger in the vehicle, attempting to drag their cut and broken bodies out. Judy felt tired, weak, frail, but she still was in one piece. She had several cuts from the glass, but she didn't carry any more wounds. Miles and nick ran up to the van, kneeling down into the rubble.

"Carrots are you okay?!" Nick replied in fear. Miles patted Nick on the shoulder, signaling him to take care of her and the others in the van, while Miles ran back to the cruiser and called for backup. Judy's ears rang the entire time. She saw nick freaking out and holding her in his arms, kneeling her over his knees and caressing her cheek. Nick began to tear up and wipe the blood from the cuts on her face, as she slowly felt the numbness from everything set in, then go away, in gentle waves, back and forth. He held her close to him and started crying, while all Judy could hear was muffled sobs and phrases with the words, "I'm so sorry", and, "This is my fault".

Sirens could be heard in the distance as well, and Judy could see Miles running around, setting down 'caution' tape on the scene as fast as he could. He began to point to other officers who drove the van, the people inside, and the officer who was possibly injured. Other paramedics were carrying the suspects to ambulances, and Nick carried Judy carefully away from the scene to the cruiser. She finally caught ahold of her senses, and spoke strained.

"N-Nick..?"

"You're gonna be okay, Judy! I promise! I'm gonna make sure you get the care you need! Just- Hey! Medic!"

Judy raised her hand slowly to Nick's arm, and grabbed ahold, focusing his attention back on her.

"I'm okay, i promise."

She pulled him in close for a hug, and Nick had tears streak down his face as he spoke quietly.

"I was s-so scared i lost you…"

"I know… But i'm not leaving for a long time, Nikki."

She pulled away from the hug, and slowly tried to stand up. Nick assisted her, walking her to a fourth paramedic. Miles began talking to Chief Bogo about the situation.

"How many were there?" He asked.

"Three, sir. But i need you to know, i wasn't-"

"Was anyone injured? Any casualties?"

"No, sir. But Nick and Judy were-"

"Did you make sure to file a report-"

"CHIEF!" Miles barked, sick of being handed the credit. Bogo stayed quiet, and stared down at Miles.

"I'm trying to tell you, this is not my case! Your Lieutenant and sergeant were the ones who were on duty for the case."

Bogo held his hand out to the two, now in an ambulance.

"Well why didn't they come to me about it first, then?"

"Because they have the chance to make sure they're both alive before giving you info, Chief!" Miles now had become annoyed. "To be honest, your little policy of forwardness and bravery is getting out of hand! If i were you, i'd cut back on the damn job, and put a little more of a social aspect into it, because chances are, if you have to call me in to your office the next day at 6:00 A.M., and talk to me in the same mental drive you have now, i'd probably toss a lamp at your head and tell you to 'lighten the fuck up'!"

Chief bogo blew a deep breath through his nostrils, but Miles did not regret his decision to speak to his Chief in such a manner.

"Now i know what you're thinking right now Chief; ' _He is the preppy a-hole that thinks he's gonna succeed in life.'_ Well that's where you're wrong! The difference between that assumption, compared to the one you're having now, is that i had the guts to do the opposite of what an _actual,_ prep would do, 'cuz unlike your vision, i actually carry self discipline by heart! You can't always be right! It's damn near impossible!"

Miles was out of breath after letting that all out, and he began to get a headache after a moment of silence. Bogo had his arms crossed, with a disgruntled look on his face. Not furious, but not bugged. Miles looked down and held his thumb and pointer finger to his brow, and turned around, answering his look.

"I'll see you at 6:00 A.M. tomorrow."

(AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS)

*****Plenty of action, like i had promised. there is still more to come, so be ready in the near future. Thanks for reading, and do me a favor, follow and favorite if you enjoy it, because i want to know if people want more.*****


	11. Chapter 11

(AUTHOR'S NOTES)  
*****So, I just wanted to explain why I have been gone for the past four or five days. I got a job finally, so I can pay off some debt to a few friends, as well as buy a plane ticket for someone very close to my heart. But other than that, I have just had a sh*t time with my sleep schedule, and now that I'm back on track, I'll be writing a little more.

Last chapter, Nick and Judy had been in a cruiser at night and spotted a van speeding down the highway. Attempting to follow the suspicious vehicle, they are hit with a barrage of bullets coming from the van. They chase the criminals into Zootopia, now attempting to call for backup, with Miles jumping onto the vehicle. Judy then attempts to jump from their cruiser to the van, in an attempt to stop the driver from his escape. She looks ahead, however, and sees Little Rodentia at the end of the road quickly speeding to its demise, so in an act of quick thinking and reflexes, she knocks the driver and passenger out, crashing the van just a few feet after the entrance. Miles reports the scene to Bogo and explains that this was not his case, so in an argument, he tells his Chief that he will be at the office the next day to apologise.*****

CHAPTER 11:

Judy was bandaged and given care, mostly by Nick as she had taken the ambulance to a hospital. She didn't break or sprain anything, but she needed to get a tetanus shot for her arm after being scratched by the white van. Nick did everything for the doctors however; he was greatly worried for her well being, so he took it upon himself to patch her up. It was around 3 in the morning when she had checked out, and Nick drove her home in a new cruiser, getting her water as she went to bed. She was feeling better, and she could take care of herself, but Nick continued to assist her with any needs. Eventually she started to giggle as Nick tried to give her a glass of water.

"N-Nick, i'm fine." She smiled and took the glass, taking a slow drink. Nick pulled up a seat across from her bed, and he sat down, slumping over in tiredness and rest. Judy put the glass down next to her clock on a table, looking back at Nick.

"I hope you know i was scared." He mumbled.

Judy looked down and smiled, thinking about how caring he was.

"I did. And i'm grateful you were there, Nick."

He gave a small smile, and looked up, admiring her weary eyes.

"Your eyes are beautiful."

She looked down, closing her eyes, then frowned, knowing what had to be explained.

"Nikki…"

His smile slowly faded.

"About us."

"Yeah?" He slowly sat up.

"I, know you care for me. A lot actually. Enough to the point to where you're willing to do, _anything_."

She emphasized that word, and it rang in Nick's ears. "Anything."

"Well yeah," he agreed. "Because you were able to connect with me on a level that, not even Finn could."

Judy started to feel her chest tighten as he continued to explain.

"You give me reason to stay away from any illegal work. You also helped me understand how to be thankful for the smaller things. Things like, making someone smile, or admiring the sunrise, or even waking up in the morning…"

Judy nodded, then winced from the things he had said.

"Hell, carrots… I want to go far enough to say-"

"Nick." She cut him off, and his ears folded back in fear.

"We can't…" She opened her eyes, not making eye contact.

"Can't what?" His voice slightly shook.

"We just can't… Be more than that."

Nick kept his eyes on her, his mouth hanging halfway open, in fear, and in sadness.

"Why."

"Why?"

"Yeah."

She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, ready to drop the bomb.

"Because it's not right, Nick."

He held his hands up in fear, trying to convince her.

"Judy, we can hide it. I can keep you safe, i can make you a queen!"

He fell to his knees, pleading with everything his heart could produce.

"Please, carrots, i'm willing to promise you a paradise! A place where you get the care and love and passion you deserve, every day!"

Judy started to tear up, and Nick crawled closer, now praying to her.

"Nick, we can't!"

"Yes we can!" He started to get upset. "Why won't you try?!"

"Because i'm scared, Nick!" She exploded.

"I'm scared of what everyone else would think of you, of me, of us!"

He began to get angry at her fear, but continued to cry.

"Fuck what everybody else thinks! Judy, we don't need to listen to them! Please, it can just be you and me!"

She began to sob uncontrollably, and Nick started wiping tears away in frustration.

"Nicholas it won't happen!"

He fell over to her, hugging her waist and sobbing into her lap. Judy held him back, feeling completely awful for being the reason to blame. He began to cry and sob, continuing to beg for her love, as she continued to cry just as much, tears stinging the cuts on her cheeks from the chase earlier. She attempted to speak through sobs of regret, hugging his head into her waist.

"Nick you mean s-so much to m-me, but i can't bare t-to see you g-go through that… e-every day!"

She began to have an anxiety attack as she cried, trying to control her breathing and her heart rate. Nick noticed, and immediately climbed up next to her on the bed, as she wiped her tears away. He wrapped his arms around her, and hugged her close, crying into her shoulder. Judy did the same, bawling her eyes out while still having difficulty with her breathing rhythm. He began to try to calm her down and rock her slowly, trying to shush her as he sobbed as well, and she eased up, taking deep breaths and slowly beginning to stop sobbing. Eventually, Nick could whisper to her as he sniffled, "it's okay, shh, you're alright carrots…". She nodded to him as they rocked, sniffling and wiping her tears. Nick glided his thumb under her eyes, wiping the clear sparkles of sadness away, as he rubbed his own eyes into his shoulders. They both lied down onto Judy's bed, and he cuddled closed into him, her eyes closed and still sniffling from the episode they just had. Nick also had his eyes shut, trying to hold back more tears with the thought of his one and only to say "no". Eventually, she had fallen asleep, and held onto Nick's shirt, silently sleeping with her mouth halfway open. Nick looked down at her as she slept in peace, and he began to stroke and caress the base of her ears. He took a deep breath before he spoke.

"I love you, Judy."

Miles woke up after sleeping for fifteen hours straight, waking up at 5 in the afternoon. He did sleep on the couch at Judy's, but he was asleep while Judy and Nick had their talk. When he woke up, Judy was in the living room, flicking through several news channels while dressed in pajamas. She looked back and noticed Miles rubbing his head.

"Hey. You're alive." She spoke in a hoarse voice.

Miles noticed her voice immediately.

"Yeah, more importantly, you are. Are you feeling sick?"

She sighed.

"A little. Why."

He sat straight up, stretching.

"Because you sound really strained. Did something happen while i was out?"

She turned around and glanced at him, shrugging.

"Guess i was just in a lot of pain from the night before. I wasn't screaming in my sleep, was i?"

Miles noticed her eyes were strained, and a little dull.

"No, but you might have been crying in your sleep. Your eyes have marks."

She nodded, looking away.

"I guess."

Miles looked at the T.V. and noticed the news station describing the events of the night before. Chief Bogo described the events of the chase that took place, with a chopper and several eye-witnesses capturing footage of the pursuit, and the crash into Little Rodentia.

"...Officer Hopps risked her life to stop these criminal scum from transporting this substance, right here."

He held out a vial of purple-yellow liquid to the camera, allowing the flashlight to let it glow. The news reporter then asked Chief what the substance was.

"We aren't sure, but we are to believe that it is a stimulant of sorts, so we will have to take it back to the station and run a few tests."

Judy changed the channel, rubbing her forehead.

"Apparently only one box was being transported, so chances are, it's a pricey drug." Miles commented.

Judy nodded, bringing up a point Nick explained the night before.

"Apparently Nikki says Finn was transporting some of it to gain a bit of money."

"Why the hell didn't he arrest him?"

Judy looked at Miles, shrugging.

"I guess he said he couldn't because he was his only 'family'."

Miles tilted his head in retrospect, then stood up, stretching.

"Hey, i think i'm gonna go and get a new phone. I haven't had one for a few years, so i'm gonna go and get something i can use to contact you guys."

Judy nodded, walking back up the stairs.

"Be careful. Let me know when you need my number."

Miles nodded, but before he exited the door, he asked her something.

"Hey, Judy?"

"Hm." She stopped walking up the stairs, but kept her eyes on the steps.

"You can tell me anything, you know that, right?"

She hesitated, then answered.

"Yeah, i know."

He stayed at the door for a second in a moment of silence, then spoke again.

"Okay, because you're not just my partner, you're also my friend."

Judy looked over to Miles, and gave a half smile, nodding.

"Thanks Miles. That means a lot."

He nodded then closed the door behind him, walking out to his ACR.

He drove to a nearby electronics store, seeing if there were reasonable prices for a small smartphone. Coming up to the front of a store with the name, "The shock collar: Cellphones and electronics.", he entered with his wallet in hand. A dog stood at the counter in a silver shirt, with a shock-collar logo on his chest.

"Hey, welcome to the shock-collar! Best prices in town, or we'll zap the competition!"

Miles smiled, nodding in gratitude.

"Hi, i'm looking for a small, affordable smartphone. Something that can handle work and social branches in my life."

The dog smiled and walked around the counter, guiding Miles to the side of the store.

"Well we have several different brands to choose from, including iPup, Catdroid, and Wolfkia."

Miles blinked in astonishment at the wall of cellphones available to him.

"Uhh, that's the thing. This is my first time buying my own Cell…"

The dog chuckled and patted Miles on the shoulder.

"That's understandable, sir. Hey, i never got your name. I'm James."

"Miles." He shook his hand.

"Well, Mr. Miles, for the best decision on what kind of phone you're looking for, do you have a specific field you work in? Because chances are you'll need something reliable, durable, trustworthy."

He smiled, looking at the large screens on most of the displays.

"Law enforcement. I'm a Captain at the ZPD."

James chuckled.

"Well, Officer Miles, We have a selection of durable cellphones with customizable screen protectors, cases, and backup warranties. Here, this is a classic."

He pulled a small phone off the wall, with no buttons on the front whatsoever. Handing it to Miles, he examined the cell phone, admiring the camera on the back. James explained as he continued to fondle the item.

"This is the iPup T-ball. Featuring a Quad Core 2.5 Gigahertz CPU, this baby can run several applications at once with ease, and still have enough hands to download, play, or transfer data, music, or videos. It also features a 32 gigabyte internal memory unit, with a 3 gigabyte ram unit. This way, you can easily make a call, while doing your favorite activity on this mobile device."

Miles nodded in appreciation for such a small device, and spoke.

"Sounds extremely capable of every need i have! I just have one question."

"Uh huh?"

"How do you turn it on?"

He showed James the blank screen, and James laughed in realization.

"That's another feature with the T-ball! It carries the ability to be Multi-touch! You can just double tap the screen," He visualized his description, bringing the phone to life. "And your cellphone is up and running!"

Miles smiled and gave an understanding nod.

"That's perfect! I'll take it!"

"Great! Another great thing about this phone is the affordability. You see, competitors like Wolfkia focus on quality, while iPup tries to focus on what the people want. You'd be surprised on the price comparison."

Miles handed him the phone.

"How big is the gap?"

"Well, your average Wolfkia today will run you about $350 into the gutter…"

Miles winced with an "Ouch."

"But," James continued "Buying a iPup, you save an average of about $275!"

"You're telling me that thing is $75?" He said in amazement.

"Absolutely, Sir!" He smiled, handing him the phone back.

"And i understand its unbelievable, with how people are paying more than what the base price is, but that's because they focus on the digital aspect, you know?"

"Memory, RAM, things like that?" Miles guessed.

James snapped his fingers.

"Exactly!" He walked him back to the counter, then went to the register, ringing his item up.

"So, your total is 74.99, and it comes with a custom, 6 foot charger, and secondary battery incase the first one shorts out. You are also guaranteed a 90-day warranty incase anything happens to the cell phone."

Miles smiled, pulling out a $100 bill.

"Alright, i think it's well worth grabbing a screen protector as well, so how much would that add?"

"$20, do you want a case with that as well?"

"Nope, i'm confident enough to use this phone daily, if something happens however, i'll know who to call." He smiled, and James laughed again.

"Alright, your total comes out to 94.99, thanks for coming to the shock collar, come back again soon!"

Miles received everything he needed with the new phone he had, and drove over to the station, now thinking of how to apologize for the way he spoke to Chief Bogo. He walked into the station, and noticed Clawhauser at the front desk, drinking a soda with a straw.

"Hey Ben!" He spoke with a smile. Benjamin noticed and immediately choked while drinking, trying to recover from his entrance.

"Hiya, cap'n! What'cha need?" He smiled as he rested his cheeks on his hands.

"Well, i want to register this thing to my info," He flashed his cell. "And i need to talk to Bogo about the night before."

Benjamin sat up, quickly typing and clicking into his desktop.

"Alright, can i get your number?" He smiled, and Miles chuckled before giving him the info. Benjamin quickly typed it in, quietly chuckling as he clicked enter, and asked him about Chief.

"Why do you need to talk to the big guy though?" He asked.

Miles put his phone back into his pocket and explained.

"Well, i kinda blew up on him when i got involved with Nick and Judy's chase. I ended up telling him he was too serious about his job, and he needed to lighten up."

Benjamin gasped.

"Cap, you know you could get in big trouble for that, right?! Goodness gracious i'm amazed he didn't fire you on the spot!"

Miles shrugged.

"He kinda stayed quiet the whole time i explained. Guess i might get demoted if i talk to him."

Benjamin frowned.

"Well if you do, i'll give him every reason to let you keep your position, Cap, i promise!"

He saluted him with a smile and a nod, and Miles smiled back from his hospitality.

"Thanks Ben, is he in today though?"

He went back to the desktop and scrolled through several dates.

"Nope, he's off duty right now, but i can call him back if you'd like!"

"I'd appreciate that Ben, thanks!"

He smiled and his tail twirlled behind him, while he brought up his phone number to give him a call.

"Hi chief! Um, Captain is here to speak with you. Oh no, he's right at the front desk, why? Oh, okay, i'll send him off!"

He set the phone down and pointed toward his office.

"Big guy is asking you to head to his office and wait there for him."

Miles nodded as he walked toward the direction, waving.

He entered the room quietly with no fear, closing the door behind him like it was his own office. Admiring the two chairs in front of his desk, he sat in one and pulled out his phone. Since he gave Benjamin his number, he ended up taking it for himself, sending the message, " _Gotchu ;)"._ Miles rolled his eyes in from how persistent Benjamin was being, and leaned back in the chair, waiting for Chief Bogo to show up. A minute passed, then five, then ten, and until about a half an hour had passed, the door handle jiggled for a second, and Miles's ears perked up as he looked back.

Chief Bogo was standing in the doorway, a bottle of alcohol in one hand, and his cellphone in another. He was still in uniform, and he didn't seem intoxicated. Miles stared at Bogo dumbfounded, confused as to why he was carrying scotch in the first place. He closed the door behind him, and walked to his desk, setting down the bottle and leaning back in his chair, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He didn't look angry, but he had a frown on his face. Miles kept his eyes on him the entire time. Eventually, he spoke up.

"Thought you said six A.M."

"Figured i should come by at a better time." Miles replied.

Bogo opened his eyes, and looked at Miles with his eyebrows up in question.

"Well, either way, here we are."

"Yeah."

Bogo then leaned forward, and reached into the drawer of his desk, pulling out two small glasses. He poured one for himself and hovered the end of the bottle over the second glass.

"Care for a drink?"

Miles waved his hand.

"Don't want a biased conversation. Sorry."

Bogo shrugged, and poured the glass anyway, then slid the glass to the end of the desk, putting the bottle between the two of them. He then took a sip of his own.

"I understand you were a little, irritated with my motifs, Miles."

He nodded.

"Yes sir. If that was how you were born and raised, then i apologize."

He stared into his glass.

"Nothing more than a memory."

He then took another drink from his glass, and set it down, looking at Miles.

"Listen, mister Feral, i want you to know that i do not have any personal relationships with my fellow officers."

Miles nodded.

"Be it for a friendship, or just to get something out of it, i do not take that risk. So if this is your way of trying to be my _friend_ , i suggest you leave my office."

He stayed seated, still in his leaned back position.

"I just want answers. I'm not here to cause a disturbance, or to harass, i just need to know why."

"Why what?"

"Why you seem so volatile. So reclusive. So, independant."

He attempted to dumb the words down.

"Why does that matter to you?" Bogo asked.

"So i can know what and what not to say in the line of duty when i'm standing next to you. You know, do an action without being asked, or make a decision without having to contemplate."

Bogo raised an eyebrow.

"So you just want to know the right answers when you're near me?"

Miles shrugged.

"In a way. I guess you just have a look on your face all the time. You seem pissed or irritated about something, and i want to try to be the officer who, i guess, kind of restores your faith on how others can make your life just a _little bit_ easier. If that happens to be the case, i mean."

Bogo closed his eyes as he understood, and picked his half empty glass of scotch, looking through the brown-yellow liquid.

"I see." He downed the rest of the glass, then opened the bottle back up, pouring more.

"I took your advice on, _cutting back,_ i guess you could say."

"That explains the scotch." Miles concluded.

"Uh-huh." He drank another small amount and put the bottle down, resting his elbow over the back of his seat.

"You ever wonder how some people can just get careless so quickly?"

"I usually try to keep it in the back of my mind." Miles said.

"Well, i'm kind of like the opposite. I become very, tense, in a manner of speaking. As if i need to make sure everyone is doing their job."

Miles hung his leg over the chair's armrest, trying to get more comfortable.

"You're the Chief executive for a reason."

"Hmm." He looked at Miles posture, then raised a palm toward him.

"But as you can see, i'm not even twitching at the sight of you sitting in such a deliberate manner."

Miles slowly sat up, fixing his posture.

"Sorry, sir-"

"No, no, it's fine." Bogo cut off. "Relax, you need it."

He actually gave a half grin. Miles understood.

"Miles, listen to me. I only sit here with a 40 ounce bottle of alcohol, in the workplace with you, because i wanted to attempt to understand your way of communicating."

Miles was confused.

"You assume i always take it easy?"

He picked the glass up.

" _I guess you just have that look on your face all the time._ " He drank the rest of the glass, placing it upside down.

Miles smirked and looked at Bogo with a feeling.

"Chief, i can be one of the most serious people you've ever met, i assure you. But i am willing to take a break when the time is needed. I was just curious as to why you don't do the same."

"It's because i have no reason to take a break. Being a chief, i believe i need to take action every chance there is, so i never choose to let my guard down."

Miles nodded, then sat straight up, and grabbed ahold of his drink, and swallowing it whole with ease. He winced from the taste before he spoke.

"Well chief, i was wondering if i could make a proposal to you then. In return for you to take a break, i could make sure things stay in order within that time."

Chief Bogo gave a chuckle, then started to laugh, then built into uncontrollable laughing. Miles however, kept a straight face.

"You really think you could take control? Goodness, Captain! You have colleagues three times your size! How do you expect to take control over an entire classroom with animals of different sizes?!"

Miles sat in silence, still with his straight face, but then stood up and grabbed ahold of the bottle of scotch. He opened it, and drank the last 20 ounces of the bottle with ease. Bogo was confused when Miles did this, but he set the bottle back down, wiping his mouth and making a hacking noise.

"Watch me. I won't look intoxicated at all today. I'll work for the rest of the day."

He held his hand out for a handshake. Bogo looked at him disapprovingly, but asked.

"You really are willing to try?"

Miles nodded. "As long as you get the relaxation you need, sir." He lowered his hand.

Bogo nodded, then stood up, holding his hand to his side.

"Tell you what, Captain. If you can physically prove yourself to your crewmates first thing tomorrow, i'll rest easier for the next day."

Miles's posture stiffened straight up in surprise.

"You're willing to give me an extra day if i succeed in the first?"

"Only if you mean that i really will be much more relaxed." Bogo then held his hand out for a handshake. Miles looked in surprise and immediately grabbed his hand with a firm grip, shaking with a strong paw.

"I'll make sure you won't regret it, Chief!" Miles gave a look of determination as he spoke, and turned around to leave the room, but before exiting through the door, Bogo spoke up.

"Oh, one more thing Miles,"

He looked back. "Yes, sir?"

"You owe me for the rest." Bogo held up the now empty bottle.

(AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS)

*****I understand if you felt it was a little boring, believe me, i did too. But think about this with realism; our new character now has a cellphone...

Anyway, thank you all for reading, ill post another chapter in the future.*****


	12. Chapter 12

*AUTHOR'S NOTES*

(I've been really pressed for time recently, i've had to work, sleep and meet up with a few friends. We're very close to one thousand views by the way. i'll think of something special. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.)

CHAPTER 12:

Miles ended up going back to Judy's house and waiting to show his potential until the next day. It wasn't late, but he didn't really have any other place to go. Miles always knocked before coming in the house however, and Judy quickly wiped her eyes when she heard the knock.

"Hey Jude, i'm here." Miles asked, closing the door.

Judy tried to hide a sniffle before talking.

"Hey, how was the talk with-"

"You okay?"

Judy turned around and froze while trying to think of something to say.

"Hey…" He walked to her slowly placing his hand on her shoulder. Judy shrugged it away and walked to the kitchen, wiping her nose again.

"I'm fine."

Miles slowly followed, trying to think of how to make her explain.

"Did, something happen-"

"I said i'm fine Miles!" She snapped at him, then closed her eyes, sighing as she faced the kitchen sink. Miles slowly placed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the frame of the entry.

"Look, i've just been really sore, okay? Here, do you want something to eat?" She shuffled through the cupboards trying to gather random ingredients, hoping he would walk away, but he stayed, looking at her figure as she stressed. She was wearing thin clothing the entire time, which was most likely for comfort, and her eyes had looked really strained, so Miles assumed it was a stressful cause. Judy looked back in irritation.

"What?"

He shrugged.

"Just worried."

Judy shook her head in frustration as she gathered ingredients to make a small type of soup. Miles slowly walked to her on her back left side, keeping his hands in his pockets but looking at the floor. She slammed a dish into the sink as she turned around, getting heated with Miles's actions.

"Can't you be a captain somewhere else?! Damn, it's like you breathe down my neck everywhere we go!"

Miles looked at her, a red haze beginning to sense itself around her figure, and Miles spoke.

"You promised."

He walked away and Judy snapped at him again.

"Promised what?"

"That you could tell me anything." He walked back to the living room, and Judy followed, a dark cloud forming over her.

"I didn't promise! I, just said that-"

Miles nodded, picking up the remote as he spoke.

"You're right. I didn't make you promise. Sorry."

Judy clenched her fist, the side of her shirt falling down her shoulder.

"You're so fucking loose, Miles! Why the hell do you always say you're sorry?!"

He stayed quiet, assuming she was greatly upset.

"Well!?"

He switched the channel to the news station, watching the outcome of the tests ran with the new drug. Judy groaned in anger and walked back into the kitchen while Miles listened, slowly sitting down onto the couch. A reporter had been given info on the substance, explaining the process to its description.

"Today, a breakthrough at the cliffside asylum was announced, as the chemical found at a crime scene in front of Little Rodentia, was taken in for further investigation. Scientists and Lab researchers believe the chemical is a synthetic drug used to simulate the effects of being what is called, ' _Savage'_ , a very rare and disastrous sickness that can cause the host to act in a fierce or violent nature."

Miles leaned closer as better shots of the substance were taken, exposing its blue and orange aura.

"Researchers explain that the drug can drive users to become savage over time without need for the drug, and eventually, insanity. Symptoms of a user include drowsiness, mood swings, nausea, headache, fever, vomiting, seizures, and even uncontrollable twitching of the hands, feet, or eyes. If you or a loved one see anybody with these symptoms, please contact the number below, and find them help."

A number below was displayed, and Miles sat for a second, attempting to match up symptoms to the way Judy was acting. There was mood swings already, drowsiness, which explained her eyes, and headache, which is why she looked away half the time. Miles slowly pulled his phone out, dialing the number down, and saving it into his phone book.

"Judy?" He asked.

There was silence.

"Jude, can i get your number for work?"

She threw her phone at him, and he caught it after being startled.

"Pin?" He asked, noticing the lock.

"Zero three, 16"

He entered the lock onto the cell phone, and immediately noticed an app that caught his eye, labeled as "A favor". Miles chose to ignore it and find the call button, and entered Judy's number into his own cell. After going back to the home screen, he looked at the app a moment longer, debating whether or not to actually open it up.

"Done?" She asked annoyed.

Miles nodded, then stood up, taking the phone back to her. Judy quickly took the phone from his hands, throwing it back into her pocket, then began to cut up bits of celery and lettuce. Miles looked straight at her.

"Judy, you wouldn't ever do any drugs, right…?"

She froze, looking straight ahead, and wondering why he would even ask that.

"What?" She turned her head in confusion.

"Like, you wouldn't ever try to find a way to ease up with a stimulant, right?"

"No, why do you think i am…"

She realised what her figure had looked like. Strained eyes, a drowsy walk, her eyes looking away every few seconds, it all made sense as to why Miles was questioning her. She faced him, fixing her shirt. Miles's eyes followed her hand, which was now holding her other arm.

"You just look like it." He said in a solemn tone. "I've been a bit worried since earlier today, and you just look like you've been on something. Now, i don't know if it's because you went through a bad argument with somebody, or stress has gotten to you to the point to where you need to release, but whatever it is, i want to know…"

He leaned in for an answer, and Judy looked away. Miles slowly raised his hand to her chin, softly turning her face to him again. He looked her straight in the eyes and brushed her cheek with his thumb.

"I need to know." She released the arm holding her other to her side, and stared back into his eyes.

He stayed for another five seconds, then sighed, walking away.

"Miles?"

He stopped before entering the main room, looking round the corner.

"Yeah?"

"I just had an argument with Nick… A bad one. He kept telling me he was worried about me being on the field and we fought on who should stay at the station for their safety."

She chose to lie, but teared up as she spoke.

"I ended up telling him that he was too overprotective, and that he'd end up getting himself hurt trying to protect me."

Miles nodded at the sad ending, but smiled, walking back, and immediately hugging her for comfort. Judy cried a little, but quickly eased up. Miles smiled as he spoke softly.

"Thank you for telling me."

Judy nodded as she had her head on his chest, then leaned back to continue making food.

"I'm sorry i waited so long, i just… To see him leave because of what i said."

"It's okay. Don't worry."

Judy wiped a tear away as she cut more celery, and Miles held onto the wall.

"Come on. We should get some rest. I know it's only about 8:30 but we wake up at six."

Judy nodded, putting the knife down, and slowly walking out of the kitchen, through the living room, and up the stairs.

"Sleep well Jude." He said. Judy nodded and continued up the stairs. Miles stretched in irritation of the situation, then just exhaled, sat down, and lied on his side, forcing himself for the next nine hours to sleep.

Judy was up and ready, looking and feeling better then the day before, and Miles was prepared to take control. Nick was there as well, but he didn't speak to Judy at all. They were up an awake, but with both of them sitting next to each other, with a dull look on their face. Miles sat in between them.

"Hey, i hope you guys are ready for today!" He smiled, but Nick placed his cheek into his palm.

"Why is that?"

Miles pointed to the front of the room as Chief bogo walked in.

"Take a look."

Bogo stood at the front of the room with his reading glasses on, and read text off of the papers he held.

"Everyone, i have our announcements for the day, but i need to make a statement."

All officers became confused and leaned in to what Chief had to say.

"Captain Feral here, has had a talk with me yesterday, about my job."

Everyone stared at Miles, and Nick and Judy became extremely confused.

"Hey, what is he talking about?" Judy whispered.

"He had explained to me that, even in the midst of doing my job sometimes, i just need to take it easy. And honestly, i think he's right."

Everyone started to blurt out confused remarks as to why Bogo would agree, then he spoke above everyone.

"Quiet down!" He fixed his glasses. "Captain, come up here."

Miles stood up in a straight posture, nodding and walking to the podium. He stood next to Bogo as he continued to speak.

"Here's a little something all of you don't know. This captain, right here, had the guts to take on control underneath my authority. Naturally, i would say no, but if he had enough confidence and fight within him to ask, he surely still has it within him now, right?"

Bogo laughed, shaking Miles's shoulder. The rest of the room laughed and Nick and Judy looked at him worried.

"Anyway, here's the deal; Miles is going to be chief for a day. As compensation for his size, seeing he outsizes you all by a third, he has the ability to gain physical control if you refuse to listen. Respectively, you can try to stop him yourself, be it by one, or all of you. However, you cannot bound him up in one place to the point to where he is helpless, understood?"

All officers nodded, While Judy held her hands to her mouth, and Nick facepawed.

Bogo signaled the podium.

"Miles, the floor is yours."

He nodded, slowly walking up to the podium that was larger than him. He didn't pay much attention to it, so he climbed his way up with ease, then stood at the top, his hands behind his back, and a straight face of determination showed off of him.

"Hello everyone, i want to get something straight: I am not doing this for personal gain, to prove a point, or to merely catch a reputation. I am here to just do Chief a favor, and allow him to relax for a day or two."

Nobody but Nick and Judy payed attention.

Miles sighed, then gritted his teeth, trying plan B.

He roared a deep howl from the base of his throat and the steel within his chest. Something that could rupture glass if you could amplify it. Everyone immediately payed attention, and he coughed to the side, looking back at the room. Bogo was surprised at what task he could perform.

"Thank you. Now let me explain-"

"You ain't tough enough, fox!"

All of the larger officers laughed, but some smaller ones either grinned or rolled their eyes.

Miles clenched his fist, the pointed an open palm to the tiger who had called it out.

"I appreciate your input sir, but please, fuck off."

Everyone then was surprised at the audacity he had to swear toward fellow officers. Some animals looked at Bogo for an answer, but he just shrugged with his arms crossed.

"Here's my rules. If you are gonna be a dick, so will i. If you decide to throw a punch, so will i. If you decide to antagonise, threaten, or haze, i will as well. I am not trying to be a greedy, power hungry asshole, i am just trying to help somebody who deserves it."

A rhino stood up.

"Hey, what makes you think you can just tell us what to do right off the bat?!" He yelled in irritation.

"Because looks can be deceiving, so if you have a problem with it, i highly advise you to not just tell me, but show me."

He kept his stance, and the rhino stood up, with his colleagues looking at him with a smile, having the thought that he could easily just sit on Miles as a form of submission. He walked to the podium, and grabbed Miles's whole figure with ease, basically constricting him from where he was. He stayed still, keeping a straight face, but the rhino just let a long, unsettling grin set, and spoke as he squeezed tighter.

"Smaller mammals should never be allowed to join the ZPD- Ouch!"

Miles had spiked his palm with his nails, setting them deep into his flesh, and causing him to let go on the grip. But instead of falling to the ground, he grabbed ahold of his arm, and climbed his way as fast as he could to the top of the rhino's head, clinging ono his ear and horn, and pulling back. The rhino almost immediately winced and fell back from this, and tried to swipe him off, but every time a hand came to Miles, he would jerk another way to stay from getting grabbed a second time. Eventually, he caused the rhino to fall to the ground, landing on top of the table in front of everybody else. Miles stood up and brushed his shirt off as he stepped back onto the table, looking at all of the other officers.

"He was close." He then noticed the rhino was very low on energy, just taking deep breaths from the fall he had just made.

"C'mon, get up." He patted the rhino's shoulder as he regained consciousness, and he slowly stood up, as Miles apologised.

"Sorry, i shouldn't have asked that."

He jumped back down onto the floor, then climbed his way back to the podium standing next to the papers.

"So it looks like today a couple of things are going on. We've got a cleanup crew at downtown Zootopia, so careful for traffic around there. Sahara square has some small activity with groups of animals gambling illegally, so keep a close eye out, and…"

The last line of things was a note of suspicious activity in the rainforest district with boxes being delivered discreetly. Miles chose to save this for his squad.

"...that is it for today, anyone left out of today's notices are assigned to parking duty or patrol. Thank you, have a good day everyone!"

Everyone stayed quiet as they stood from their desks and left the room, but Miles quickly jumped back to the table Nick and Judy sat at.

"Guys, i saved one for us. There's suspicious activity going on around the rainforest district, and i think it leads to-"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." Nick cut Miles off with a sour tone. He then jumped from his chair and left the room with little emotion, and he looked at Judy, who looked down in disappointment.

"What has gotten into him?" He asked.

"I don't know, but we should get going." She quickly jumped down from her seat as well, trying to hurry out of the room, and leaving Miles in confusion.

This time, Miles drove the cruiser, with Nick sitting next to him and Judy sitting in the back. This was a lot like the first day Miles was here, but the silence was different; there was tension, stress, and even a bit of worry. He had to find out.

"So what is going on? You guys have been really quiet today."

There was nothing to say and Miles sighed in slight annoyance.

"Come on and tell me. I promised both of you i'm not just a co-worker. I'm willing to be a friend too."

They both stayed silent once again, and once more, Miles gave a roll of his eyes.

"There's activity going on at the rainforest district. Packages like the one we found at the crime scene were found being shipped out. We need to investigate."

Miles didn't say another word for the rest of the drive, and neither did Judy or Nick.

When they arrived, the sun shined through the trees, and the sprinklers within the system were shut off for maintenance. The cruiser was pulled to the side of a small dirt road leading to several engraved homes within trees. Miles shut the car off and sat still.

"Well?" Nick said annoyed.

"Nick, don't be a jerk." Judy exclaimed.

"Shut up, carrots."

"Nick, what the hell is the matter with you!?"

"You, that's what!"

"What did i do to you?!"

"Everything you did the opposite of!"

"It's not like i have a choice, Nikki!"

"You did have a choice!"

 _Bang._

Nick and Judy jumped from the noise and set their focus to Miles, who slammed his fist on the dashboard, setting a crack to sprawl halfway across. He slowly set his fist down back onto the steering wheel and spoke.

"You two bitch like gradeschoolers. Get out. We need to start searching."

They both looked at each other, then quietly got out of the car, standing at the door and looking at Miles as he exited. He showed no emotion, and didn't slam the door shut, but he just walked ahead. They followed along, keeping quiet and making no eye contact.

"See anything suspicious, bring it up. We can't risk letting such a W.M.D. take over a city like this, understood?"

Judy agreed, but Nick stayed quiet. Miles stopped and turned around, looking with a dead eye.

"Understand, Wilde?"

Nick stayed quiet, kicking the dirt, then spat, looking back at Miles.

"Bite me."

Judy gasped as her stomach twisted from seeing the electricity between them. Miles then stepped closer.

"Hate to break it to you, but my savage side would bite back."

Nick stood straight up, standing his ground.

"Well then, we aren't so different after all."

"That's because all foxes are the same."

Nick gritted his teeth.

"Least i've had a chance to take myself seriously."

"And live with an excuse for a wannabe thug? Yeah right."

"Hey, fuck you Cap!" Nick pushed Miles back, but Miles didn't defend.

"Nick stop!" Judy cried as she jumped in to stop the beef, but Nick reached for her utility belt, snatching her fox repellant as he pushed her away to the ground. Miles immediately pushed Nick back harder.

"Hey don't touch her!"

"Oh why? Are you into that cross-species dating kink? You have a thing for rabbits, Miles?!"

He began to raise his voice.

"That's not it! You should never fucking hurt anyone unless in self defense!"

Miles attempted to walk over to Judy to help her, but nick grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him back. Miles walked forward again and tried pushing Nick away, but struggled. Nick then shoved Miles back with his forearm, and sprayed a cloud directly into Miles's face. He winced and wiped it away in pain as he fell to the ground..

"Yeah, crawl to your fucken' bunny you freak! That shit will never happen! I'll bet you couldn't even take the love of your life seriously if you found her as a different animal over the web!"

Judy suddenly covered her mouth from shock of what Nick said, and he looked back at her, barking,

"What?!"

He then looked back at Miles, who now had his eyes widened from pain and a memory. _That one that got away_. Miles slowly stood up, hiding the numbing, burning sensation on his eyes and face, and stared into Nick's soul with irritated, bloodshot eyes.

"The problem is, _i did._ " He bolted toward Nick with his hand out, grabbing onto his arm and seizing the repellant from his claws. Nick growled in anger, and threw a punch into Miles's nuzzle, sending a shockwave of pain through his head and neck. He wanted to retaliate, but thought about the fear of lethally harming someone, he reached for his handgun, and tossed it aside from himself, then he tackled Nick by his legs, while taking several fists to the head and back, tearing his handgun from his holster and throwing it aside, so Nick wouldn't be tempted to use it. He then proceeded to throw punches into Nick's stomach and sides, causing him to jerk and knee him in pain. They rolled over to the other side of the road, which was the guard rail of a hill, leading down to several trees, and a river at the bottom. Miles continued to punch and hit as much as he could, while Nick threw his momentum around every chance he got. But at one point, they didn't realise the guard rail was now on the other side of them, Judy trying to get up and stop them from falling over, but it was too late.

They plummeted down a steep hill, covered in brush, wet dirt, and roots of extremely large trees. At the bottom of the slope, lied a river that ran very fast down the rest of the way. Nick attempted to catch himself, while keeping a death grip on Miles.

"Fucker! Telling me what kinda people i live with!" He yelled as they tumbled. Nick clawed and punched at Miles's torso, while Miles himself threw punches and kicks back. Eventually, blood drew, and nicks claws tore through his fur and skin. Miles bit Nick's neck as he had been cut, and held on until they both crashed into the water, a large splash completing the fall down the dirt slope.

Nick and Miles let go of eachother, and Nick began to swim to the surface, catching his breath. Miles, however, struggled as he surfaced.

"Fuck! Fuck!" He kept bobbing in and out of the water in a struggle, and Nick yelled at him about 15 feet away.

"What's your problem?! You break your leg?"

Miles began to cough and gasp for air.

"Can't… I can't swim!"

He fell under water as he said that, and Nick had a battle for morality within himself for a moment. On one hand, he could save him and attempt to talk to him in private about the issue he had with Judy, or on the other, he could let miles drown so he wouldn't have to deal with him acting like a self-righteous show off.

"Shit!" He began swimming as fast as he could to Miles, as he stayed motionless underwater now. Nick noticed large rocks before a deeper drop ahead of them, so fear gave him enough energy to keep swimming as fast as he could. He dived underwater, seeing Miles flow along lifelessly, and grabbed ahold of his collar, dragging him to the surface and trying to wake him as he held onto a nearby rock.

"Miles! Cap! You alive?!" He shook him, then cursed himself under his breath as he swam as hard as he could to the edge of the water, where he dragged Miles away from the water, lying him on his back. He took a few deep breaths, then started to slap Miles.

"Cap, get up, you can't be dead!" He shook him more, then got angry with himself.

"Get the fuck up!"  
He slammed his fist down onto his chest, and his body jerked, his head tilting the other way in response. Nick lifted his head and shook him again, now gritting his teeth.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Damn!"

He stopped, then began to pump weight onto his chest, trying to force the water out of his system, occasionally stopping and waiting for him to react. He repeated this two more times, and he heard a noise come from deep within Miles's chest.

"Cap?!" He leaned down and placed his er at the top of his stomach, where he heard a deep gurgling noise, he then quickly backed up as Miles jerked awake, leaning away and retching up water. He began to cough and gasp after he heaved more water out of his system, his face straining from the pain his lungs and stomach produced. He climbed away from the river, now leaning up to a slope of concrete and dirt.

"You didn't have to-" He coughed again. "Start anything!"

Nick sat aside and watched Miles crawl, another punch of shame through his system. He looked toward him while miles shut his eyes, trying not to cough again.

"I was just…" Nick stood up, and walked over to him, sitting down and looking at the river flow.

"Just what." Miles tried to continue.

Nick sighed and looked down, then at Miles.

"Before i say anything, i need to know… what are your thoughts on…"

Nick hesitated and Miles followed his expression with a raised eyebrow.

"Cross-species love…?"

Miles leaned his head back trying not to le his own experience alter his answer.

"I've got nothing against it. Yeah, its looked down upon, but there's no law that says you can't…"

Nick stayed silent and looked ahead, but Miles looked at him.

"Why do you ask?"

He flinched, and rubbed his eyes, trying to give an answer.

"Because… well, i'd rather not say their name. But, the other night, we had a bad argument. Like, a really _bad_ one. Next thing you know, we're bawling our eyes out and i'm trying to beg her to stay, but she kept saying she was scared."

Miles sighed, having a hunch he knew who he had in mind.

"Scared of what."

"Of what others would think! She was terrified of what her family would do, what the ZPD would do, her friends, her co-workers, everyone! Then she tries to claim she was mostly scared of what she could do to me!"

Miles nodded.

"I think, maybe carrots just needs time."

Nick instantly switched around his eyesight to Miles.

"How did you know?"

He shrugged.

"A play on words. You used 'She' often, then you mentioned the ZPD."

Nick nodded then looked back.

"I'll support you guys." He grabbed his shoulder.

Nick looked back in surprise.

"Why?"  
Miles was sick of feeling uncomfortable when he tried to explain himself, so he just chose to ignore the feeling this time, and explain.

"I fell in love with a cat over an online game. We talked for months but there was a problem; I was a fox, and lied to her, saying i was also a cat. After i had opened up to her about who i really was, she just said, 'oh, okay. I'll be right back.' Never heard from her after that…"

"Damn, that's a hell of a commitment…"

Miles slowly sat up and looked deep into Nick's eyes.

"But if you really are going to try to be with her, then _do not,_ make the same mistake i did."

"Lie?" He asked.

"Bingo." He concluded.

Miles stood up, holding his hand out to Nick. He grabbed ahold, then stood up with ease.

"Tell you what. I'm willing to help you guys become a thing again."

Nick looked down.

"I think it's too late for that though…"

"Watch me." he turned around walking to the slope, and looking for a way to climb up, but Nick felt like it wasn't fair.  
"Wait! What if… What if i help you find that cat?"

Miles stopped and looked back.  
"We'll see."

**AUTHORS THOUGHTS**

(Story has opened up just a little bit more, i hope. Thanks for reading, leave a review, like and follow me for more content.)


	13. Chapter 13

(AUTHORS THOUGHTS)

*****First thing's first: I deeply apologize for my five or six followers who haven't gotten an upload in the past month, i have had the shittiest writer's block ever, but im back into it, stronger than before. Enjoy.*****

CHAPTER 13:

A week had passed, and once again, Nick and Miles became friends again. Several more busts of Sv2 had been caught, but the source was never found itself. Judy had also forgiven Nick for his actions, and they became best friends, while Judy forgot about the stress and drama they had gone through. Nick kept the thought with him always however, when they spoke deeply with each other at least. They were in their new cruiser, and Judy was sipping on a smoothie while Nick drove slowly.

"You think the supplier is even in town?" She asked, with a mouthful of straw and banana flavoring.

"I can't say…" Nick said, watching for traffic. "We've found the stuff all across town. No direct area or spot on the map to explain its distribution. So i guess we have to keep looking."

Judy put her feet up on the dashboard and looked toward the road.

"Maybe it's out of town?" She asked.

"Miles thought the same thing. But all check in's on the entries of town have not seen a single trace."

Judy bit her straw in fear.

"So what is our final action if it affects half of the population?"

Nick glanced at her, then commented.

"A contingency plan? I don't know…"

Judy coughed.

"Wait, they're gonna blow everyone up?!"

"No! No, they're just gonna try to gather the clean ones, and leave the rest in town, then they'll let the others do something about it."

Judy looked back at the road, slumping back into her seat.

Nick's phone rang as he drove down mainstreet.

"Ah, damn, can you grab that?"

Judy nodded, then turned over, but suddenly asked,

"Wait, where is it?"

Nick suddenly realised the action that was about to take place, and tried to hide his blush.

"Uh, my left pocket…"

Judy thought little of it, but shrugged, and reached over, as she unbuckled her belt, reaching into his pocket. Nick suddenly yelped from surprise, and Judy grabbed the phone as fast as she could, yelling back.  
"What?! What?!"

Nick blushed a bright red, then closed his eyes in embarrassment.

"You uh, Grabbed my…"

Nick stayed silent, and Judy already knew, then sat down with her face blushing a bright red as well. Nick kind of enjoyed the thought of Judy fondling his member, but also felt extremely embarrassed for her, which is why he mostly reacted negatively instead of in his own way.

She answered the call, still ringing in her hands, and didn't even look at the phone.

"This is Judy, Nick can't answer right now."

"Hey guys!" Miles spoke over the phone.

"Hi Cap." Nick said, still embarrassed. "What's up."

"I couldn't help but notice you guys had passed a spot we had a warrant to check up on."

Judy now got confused.

"Wait, how did you know…"

"Watch your six Jude."

Judy looked back out the window of the trunk, and noticed the racecar Miles owned. He drove behind them the whole time, but she didn't notice as easily.

Miles couldn't easily see through the vehicle's tinted windows, but Nick and Judy could since they were inside. Judy suddenly jumped in surprise, and dropped Nicks cellphone, having it land on the floor between Nick's legs. Nick looked down blushing as much as he could, whimpering,

"Oh cheese and crackers…" He looked up as they stopped at a red light,and Judy bent down over his lap, trying to pick it up. Miles suddenly drove up to Nick's side to speak in person.

"Hey Nick! Where's Jude-"

Miles's eyes widened as he saw the scene; Nick, stopped in the middle of the road, his eyes shut and head tilted back, while Judy was bent down over his lap. Miles actually felt the need to plush for some reason, but he didn't. Nick looked over, then suddenly reacted in fear, yeling at Judy.

"Carrots! Get up!"

She suddenly pulled her head up, looking around.

"What now?! Wha-"

She noticed Miles, staring at them wide-eyed, then suddenly covered her mouth in understanding for what he saw.

"Uh, yeah, so, go check out that building behind you. I'll be at the station, ciao!" He sped off in embarrassment, And Nick and Judy sat in silence.

"Well." She started. "That was…"

"Wrong." Nick finished, making a U-turn onto the road.

They parked the vehicle in front of the building, noticing that it was a older looking apartment complex. Upon entering the building, the door was covered in several cracks, scratches, and overall, water damage. Judy took a closer look.

"Huh, Locks busted…"

"You think that's bad?" Nick pointed at an indentation in the wall, revealing a piece of a bullet lodged inside.

Judy swallowed in fear, and began to slowly open the door, having Nick call out something behind her.

"ZPD, anyone home?"

Judy reached for her flashlight after noticing some dark corners ahead of the hallway. She kept it off, but trailed behind Nick as he slowly walked, keeping his thumb underneath his belt. The floor didn't creak, but loud bumps could be heard from their footsteps. A stairway went up on the end of the hallway.

"Check the first floor, i'll head upstairs." Nick spoke. Judy nodded, and turned around, now turning on the flashlight as she turned right, into another hallway. It was much darker now, and her flashlight shined a beam of white in every direction she looked. She checked on the first door, with it being shut completely. Leaving her hand on the knob, she pressed her ear against the door and listened carefully for any movement.

An object fell behind her, and she quickly spun around, aiming her flashlight and a taser-gun at the direction she heard the noise.

"Cheese." She said as she exhaled sharply. She didn't realise how tense her shoulders were when she had walked down the hallway. She turned back to the door, took a deep breath, then quickly opened the door, forcing the flashlight to beam within, lighting the room up.

Once again, not a single noise was heard, so she examined the dust covered furniture, the old chairs, and the rotting ceiling. She sighed in relaxation, and then turned around to leave the room.

Nick was quickly and carefully checking each room with ease, not afraid of what was in the dark; he kept his taser gun ready, so if anything jumped out at him then he would be ready to defend himself on the spot. Eventually, he found a second lobby room on the second floor, and began to admire how retro it felt to be in an old building. He wasn't sure if there was history behind it, but he definitely enjoyed the feeling of being in such a place.

"Like i'm lost in time…" He muttered to himself.

He continued to another doorway, that led to more stairs leading up another floor. Initially, when they first looked at the building, it seemed to only be about three stories high, but the tall roof almost fooled Nick. He scoffed and assumed it just led to the attic.

Static could be heard through Nick's earpiece, and he turned up the dial to listen in.

"Officer Nick, reporting in."

Nothing but static could be heard.

"Repeat, this is Nick Wilde, reporting."

The static died down into silence.

"Damn."

Judy screamed from one floor below.

"Carrots?!" Nick yelled. "Hold on, i'm coming!"

He sprinted back the other way toward the downstairs hall, but before he even made three steps, the floor beneath him creaked from extreme stress, and gave out underneath him.

He hit the ground, with rubble broken beneath and around him. He was stunned from the arch that hit him in the back, so the wind was knocked out of him. Judy sprinted around the corner to the crash, noticing Nick in frozen pain, fighting to breath.

"Oh my gosh, Nick!" She ran toward him through the broken plaster, drywall, and glass. Once she reached him, she attempted to pull him from the large mound underneath his back. He attempted to get up with her help.

"Jeez, you fall through the ceiling?!" She walked him to the doorway with him groaning as he was struggling.

"Uhh-uh i can't breathe…"

She lied him down on his back and held his chest down.

"Easy Nikki…"

He was able to draw a few breaths after a long ten seconds. He gasped after grasping his throat, then sat straight up, his fur spiking from the adrenaline rush.

"Shit… You okay? I heard you scream before i fell."

"Yeah, i just don't do well in dark and empty places."

Nick nodded, and stood up, holding his hand out to her.

"C'mon, let's get going-"

A gun cocked behind them. Judy spun around and saw a masked animal with a handgun.

"You're not going anywhere." The masked animal growled.

"Who are you?!" Nick growled, and Judy slowly stood up from kneeling.

"Dudn't matter, let's go, gimme your guns."

Nick and Judy stood still, looked at eachother for a half a second, they quickly drew their handguns, dashing through the doorway and took cover, before six shots were fired from the thug. Nick and Judy hunkered down and waited for him to stop, then shot back in returning fire. The thug the shot the rest of his magazine, with a bullet zooming past Nick's head through the wall. He then scampered up and to the back of the room, calling out to them.

"It's you fuckers that have been stopping the cartels right?! Well sucks to be you!"

He opened the door, holding a phone in his hand.

"It's a trap! and this place is gonna blow!"

He tapped the screen, then slammed the door shut, dropping the phone in the room with them. Nick looked around the corner and noticed, now sprinting to the door. Judy followed along as Nick rammed his shoulder into the door.

"Damn it!"

"Nick, we have 45 seconds!" She picked up the phone, reading the timer counting down.

"Are you nuts?!" Nick barked, ripping the device out of her hands.

"Well what would you do?"

"I don't know! Just get rid of this!"

He threw the phone to the other room, making a loud thumping noise. Judy looked in that direction, and noticed the stairs.

"I know. Follow me!"

She ran toward the stairs, with Nick following her. Continuously climbing steps until they found the door Nick almost stepped through.

"Through here!" Nick said, ramming into the door. But it only opened half way.

"Damn!" Nick paused, noticing the width of the frame.

"Judy, go!"

"What?! I'm not leaving you behind!"

Nick did not want to argue.

"Just go!" He picked her up and tossed her through the door, into the steps leading to the attic. She quickly stood up, trying to pull the door open, but he pushed her away again.  
"Run!" He yelled, and Judy froze, but quickly darted up the stairs. Nick constantly growled and rammed into the door, trying to force it to open.

Judy found a window, and kicked the panes out of the frame, allowing herself to climb further up, onto the top of the building. From here, she sprinted and jumped the gap between the two buildings, and stopped, after looking back, waiting, hoping for a stroke of luck from Nick's clever sense of lifestyle.

A deep boom was heard, and the ground shook with the building. The building slowly fell down, crumbling into the foundation it once had stood upon. Judy's heart shattered at the sight, standing as an empty shell.

"Nick." She whimpered.

She slowly turned around, and walked to the other side of the building, almost lining her feet up with the edge. She looked down into the street, staring at the sidewalk, considering a decision.

A figure suddenly began to climb up with hands covered in black smoke and debris on the opposite side of the building. Judy heard the struggling noises, and snapped her head toward the direction of the noise. Nick was seen, climbing with what strength he had left, covered in ash, debris, and glass.

"Nick! Judy gasped, almost breaking down. She quickly began to help him up as he climbed, and Nick lied on his back, regaining the energy lost in the extremely heated moment. His voice was out of breath as he spoke.

"I'm, I'm alright, carrots. Not going anywhere."

Judy held his hand and almost started to cry. With her voice almost breaking, she spoke soflty.

"Guess this is a role switch huh?" She chuckled.

"What'cha mean?" Nick said exhaling.

She sniffled, wiping a tear away.

"You know... Me almost dying in a car crash, you coming and crying about you…"

Nick closed his eyes and nodded, sitting up.

"Yeah, yeah." He held his back as he climbed to his feet.

A car could be heard screeching on the road below, and someone yelling,

"Holy fuck!"

Judy's radio suddenly blared, and Miles's voice could be heard.

"Nick! Judy! Are you guys there?! The building is nothing but rubble!"

Miles began to hold his hands on his head as he got out of the car, cursing himself for not going with.

"I should have, i _should_ have!"

"She was picking up my phone when we were in the car, you know."

Miles looked around to find the voice, then looked up, seeing Nick stand their with holes in his uniform. He grinned, then Miles smiled back in reassurance.

"HQ," He spoke into his walkie-talkie, "We need a check up on a building. And a med team. Whole place has been blown to bits."

Clawhauser answered.

"Oh goodness, Cap! You and your squad always gettin' hurt!"

The whole affair led their end shift for the day. Nick, Judy, and Miles were at the station, speaking in the debrief room.

"So, what the hell happened?" Miles asked.

"Some thug tried trapping us because we've been involved in so many Sv2 busts." Nick explained. "He ended up breaking the golden rule when he left."

"Golden rule?" Judy questioned.

"This." Nick said, pulling out the device he used.

"A cell phone?" Miles spoke.

"Exactly. We can use this to find the guy hired to get us."

"Yeah, so, we just need to crack the password to find out his info, and maybe, we can find who his worker is!" Judy exclaimed.

"Alright!" Miles cheered. "Here, let me see."

Nick handed it over. "What are you gonna do with it?"

"I think i know who can help us out. I'll take this to the electronics store down town, maybe James can help us out."

"Hey," Nick asked. "The Shock-Collar, right? I might go with you. I gotta trade mine in for a new one."

Miles nodded, sliding the phone into his pocket.

"Alright, i'll give you a ride. In the meantime, let's all head home, get some rest. Nick, i'm glad you're alive." He smiled, and Nick grinned back. Judy smiled from the friendliness they were able to give each other.

Judy was in the passenger seat after Nick was dropped off, and Miles chose to ask something for his and Nick's agreement.

"Hey, Jude…"

"Yeah?"

He reached over to her hand, and held it firmly. Judy looked toward him as he kept his eyes on the road.

"Thank you. For keeping Nikki and i from killing ourselves or each other on duty…"

Judy smiled, keeping her hand in his.  
"No problem, Miles."


	14. Chapter 14

(AUTHORS NOTES)

*****Hell yeah, back into the sweet groove of writing. Anyway, i dont have chances to give a summary of the previous chapter, because that would spoil it for any new readers wanting to find the beginning of the story. But this chapter is a very conflicted one. Dont forget to Follow and favorite, and leave a review please.*****

CHAPTER 14:

"So, you're telling me, you want this thing hacked?" James asked.

Nick put his hands on his belt while Miles held out an open palm. They had figured that they needed to wear their uniforms to seal the deal, but James was slightly nervous.

"Well, if it's the only way of tracking the owner, then we're willing to take any path." Miles answered. But James exhaled in nervousness and kept the device. He waved a hand at Nick and Miles, walking to the back room.

"Come with me."

They looked at each other, shrugged, then followed along.

The back room was nothing more than boxes of several devices being stored for resale, along with a large computer in the back. James sat down in front of it, and plugged the phone into a USB port, glaring at the screen.

"You guys know there is a difference between illegal, and legal hacking, right?"

"Yeah, legal is something called a white-hat, right?"

James nodded as he pulled up several tools that ran algorithms of all kinds, and eventually, the phone lit up.

"There. It's done."

Miles scoffed.

"That was quick. What do we do now?"

James spun around in his chair and looked between the two.

"Take the phone, leave this room, and promise you never speak of what i just did."

"Why? Can't we just use the skills you have for a good purpose?" Miles questioned.

"It's dangerous. You face challenges like losing your personal info, revealing your spot, and it's a game that never ends; once you're in, you can't get out."

James put his paws to his face in frustration, and Miles kneeled down.

"What if we take the game from you? We can put you into protection service. We can help you."

James looked up staring, answering off time.

"No, it's a bit late for that. But i know what you can do.

James explained several things about "Ethical hacking". Things like currency, how certain websites trace your actions, the _deep web_ , and even the risks that come with fighting for a cause like taking down websites that are not for the public to see.

He closed the conversation with him unplugging the desktop, and handing the setup to Nick and Miles, piece by piece.

"Take this. You can learn to fight for a better cause; maybe the _deep web_ can lead you to what you're trying to find the source of."

Miles held the PC in his hands, while Nick carried the monitor and keyboard.

"Thank you, sir." Nick said.

"No, thank you. For protecting and serving."

Nick chose to take responsibility for the PC, and talk out a plan with Miles.

"So, what do we do."

"Well, we first have to find the guy who owns this." He held the phone up as he drove. "Here, look through his contacts. Maybe we can ask them."

Nick took the phone and started gliding through several different contacts, but realized that Finnick's name was there.

"Shit."

"What?"

"Just, drop me off at my place so we can put that PC down. I have to talk to Finn."

Miles figured he was involved, but didn't want to admit it. So he sighed, and drove to the edge of Downtown Zootopia. Nick proceeded to get out of the vehicle, and draw his firearm before walking to the van. Miles chimed in.

"Whoa, what are you doing?"

"Just work with me."

Nick pointed the gun at the back of the van, and spoke in a loud tone.

"Finn, open up. We need to talk."

Miles reluctantly drew his weapon.

There was silence, but the van shook, and the back door slowly opened for an inch, and Finnick looked through the cracked door. He then slammed the door shut, calling back.

"Put your gun down Nick! I ain't havin' that!"

"I can't do that buddy, we need to take you into questioning."

There was silence, then Finnick spoke out again.

"Not movin' man!"

Nick got impatient.

"That's it, help me get the door."

Miles followed, and began tugging on the handle, with Nick attempting to pry it open alongside Miles. They tried and failed, but Miles had an idea.

"Stand back Finn!" Miles said as he pulled out his .44 .

"Wait, what the hell are you doing?!" Nick exclaimed. But Miles shot a round into the crevice of the door, right where the lock was. Finnick screamed, and Miles tried the door, but it still jammed.

"Damnit." Miles mumbled, but he quickly thought of another solution. The dent he caused with the bullet hole.

"Stand back," He said a second time as he flicked out his telescopic baton. He jammed the end of it into the door, and began pulling onto the door's frame like a lever, easing the lock as more weight was added. Nick took a step back, but he didn't move fast enough, because Miles finally snapped the door open, and the broken lock went flying into his chest.

"Sorry." He said while Nick started coughing.

Miles threw the door open, revealing Finnick holding the .45 he pointed at him before.

"Don't make me do it, man!" Finnick yelled.

Miles scoffed and walked up to him, ripping the gun out of his hands, then pointed it back at him.

"Safety's on, dipshit." He then flicked the switch on the side of the pistol.

Finnick's ears immediately went down, causing him to slowly fall, then crawl to the back of the van, but Miles creeped closer until he had him trapped against the wall. He kneeled down into a squat, and kept the pistol pointed at him.

"Now, all i wanted to do was ask some questions, but you chose to assume the worst, and think we're here to take you to jail."

Finnick covered his face.

"Man, just please! Put the gun down!"

"Why are you scared? If you didn't do anything, you shouldn't be scared, right?"

"Ye-yeah! Just please put the gun down!" Finnick began pleading, and Nick held onto his shoulder.

"Miles, enough-"

"Well, you have to promise to give us the answers we need. Got me?"

Finnick nodded while shaking, But Miles spoke one more time.

"By the way,"

He pulled the trigger.

"You really should get used to what your gun feels like with ammo."

He stood up after scaring the life out of Finnick with the action of an empty gun going off.

Nick tried coaxing Finnick into talking, calming him down and trying to ease him up from what Miles had done, and eventually, Finnick came clean and explained that he was a contact for delivering those "boxes" Nick witnessed. Nick came out the back of the van and saw Miles leaned up against a building.

"Hey, so i got it out of him- wait, are you smoking?!"

Miles threw the half used cigarette.

"Yeah." He exhaled the smoke, then coughed. "I was told it helps with stress. I don't even like it."

Nick nodded, then Miles threw the pack he had in his pocket.

"Well, anyway. Finn says that that was a contact he had for deliveries."

The phone went off, and Miles stared at Nick's pocket. Nick froze, realizing the same thing. He slowly took the phone out, and read the message aloud, from a contact named, "Sup".

"Hey, i've got more S."

Miles came up and looked at the phone.

"Here, hand it to me."

"What? No, we can't just tell him that we're the ZPD! We'll scare them!"

Miles snatched the phone.

"I'm not! Just trust me."

Miles began to type the phrase,  
" _Aight, where u at?"_

They waited for a reply, and in less than a minute, the contact answered,

" _The warehouse, cm gt these pkdgs"_

"Damn. Where is the warehouse?"

Nick thought, then took the phone back, thinking.

" _Which 1? I ws told by Fin tht there is 1 more"_

What the hell is the matter with you?! Now he's gonna get suspicious!" Miles said.

But the contact replied again, saying,

" _Bny bRowz"_

Miles was confused after looking at the text.

"Benigh Brows? Where the hell is that?"

Nick slowly looked up with a worried look.

" _Judy…"_

"What?!" Miles exclaimed.

"We have to go get her!"

Nick ran to Miles's car, and Miles shrugged, but followed along. Miles sayed under the legal limit of speeding, but made it to Judy's house as fast as they could. Nick sprinted to her door and knocked as loud as he could.

Judy answered in her jogging outfit.

"Hey Nikki! What's up-"

"No time, Jude! Get in your uniform, we need to go see your parents!"  
"Wha-? Why?!" She questioned.

"Just, please! Miles and i can explain when you get in the car!"

Judy suited up as fast as she could, and ran to the passenger side of the car, noticing that Nick was in the back.

"Alright, what's going on?" She asked.

"We got knowledge of where the supplies are being fabricated," Nick said, "In a warehouse."

"That's great!" Judy exclaimed. "Where's the warehouse?"

Nick and Miles looked at each other in worry, but Miles spoke up.

"Uh, it's closer than you think…"

Judy was confuzed. Miles sped to the station, and Nick asked why.

"Guys. This is gonna be a bust. A major event, you know? We need to be prepared."

Miles got out of the car, and Nick and Judy followed.

"Wha- What are you talking about?"  
Miles opened the door for the others.

"I'm asking for a squad promotion. A chance to become S.O."

"S.O.?" Judy asked.

"Special Operations." Nick finished.

They walked into the building quickly with Clawhauser stopping them.

"Uh oh! Where do you think you're going?" He smiled.

"No time, Ben!" Judy said. "We need to talk to Chief. It's important!"  
Ben realized things were serious and quickly typed into the computer, logging in their entrance.

"Alright, guys! Go ahead!"

They jogged to Bogo's office, but the door was closed. Miles opened it up using his weight, and Saw him just staring at his computer.

"Captain." He greeted. Nick and Judy followed as well, also entering the room. Miles was out of breath, but he really had to get him to understand. He spoke very fast about everything going on, how they found the warehouse, and where they think it was located. Bogo was annoyed with how fast he was talking.

"Nick, what the hell is he talking about?"

Miles took a deep breath, and Nick patted his shoulder.

"We found the supplier. In a warehouse."

"Great." Bogo answered. "Where is this, warehouse?"

Nick and Miles looked at each other, and spoke almost simultaneously.

"Bunny Burrows."

All three looked back at Judy, who held her paw to her mouth, gasping in fear.

"Is that why you guys said we need to check on my parents…?"

They both nodded. Judy stayed quiet, then spoke.

"Miles, ask him."

Miles look back at bogo, who glared back at him.

"We need to assemble a small team. One capable of taking on under-pressure situations when standard officers cannot."

Bogo stood up.

"Do you mean an S.O.T.F.? Why would i give you such a promotion? Plus, we don't have the necessary skills to teach you!"

"I can. I will purchase everything needed to ensure success." Miles confirmed.

"Oh yeah? Who's gonna join you?" Bogo questioned.

Miles stood still, hoping that Bogo would allow himself as the first member, but not a word was spoken. Nick then stood up.

"I am." He stiffened his stance. Miles looked at Nick, then nodded with a grin.

"Me too." Judy also answered. She came up next to Nick, keeping her hands behind her back.

Bogo realized how serious this was getting, and Nick spoke up.

"We're not trying to gang up on you, sir. We just want to prove we can."

He sighed, then sat back down, pulled a key from his drawer, tossing it to Judy.

"There's a locker in the back of each locker room. On top of the window. Go."

Miles Nodded, now jogging back to the room with Nick. Judy waited outside for them, and Nick came out first, in a pitch-black suit which carries several Magazine rounds, and a Sidearm pouch. The overall look was similar to the standard ZPD uniform, but colored with a black streak, along with many more pockets.

"Whadda ya think?" He shrugged, holding his arms out.

Judy, smiled, nodded, and answered.

"You look like you can take on the world."

Nick smiled, and Miles came out with the same uniform, loading his Desert Fox into his holster.

"How's it feel? Heavy?" Judy asked.

"More or less…" He pulled a serrated knife out of his vest, examining it. "Maybe it's about time you tell me how your suit feels?"

He tossed the key to her, and she smiled, walking back the other way.

"Give me a minute."

A few minutes passed, and Judy came out wearing the black uniform, similar to Nick's.

"Well?" Miles asked. "How does it feel?"

She shifted the Vest, standing straight up.

"A little heavier than i expected. What's in these things?"

Miles glanced at his own vest.

"Umm… I'm guessing a v-50? It's enough to stop a rifle…"

"Doesn't give you an excuse to get shot though." Nick explained.

Miles waved his arms to stretch, then spoke.

"We need to get the right firepower though. C'mon, let's go."

After searching around for the right store, Nick purchased a large Machine gun, which fired 5.56mm rounds. It carried only 40 rounds, but he didn't care. What mattered was that he had enough to cover his squad mates, including himself, and had the protection which could give him what he needed to stay brave. Judy purchased a small 5.7mm submachine gun, which carried over 40 rounds, but was lightweight. The total of the weapons, magazines, and ammunition came over $4,000, but the price was charged toward the ZPD; Bogo had contacted Nick and explained that it was the respectable thing to do. So after purchasing their arms, they took Miles's vehicle back to the station, and picked up a cruiser, with Judy driving. But instead of turning toward her home, she turned to the highway leading out of Zootopia.

"Wait, Jude, what are you doing?" Nick asked.

She stayed quiet, but took a deep breath and spoke.

"I think we should warn my parents. I want them to keep everyone inside, safe and away from what we might walk into."

Miles slowly nodded in assurance, but Nick pulled his phone out, sending a message to Miles while he spoke to Judy.

"Alright, but i need to get home. Get myself mentally prepared for tomorrow, you know?"

Judy nodded, taking an offramp, and looping back to Nick's van. Miles flt the vibration in his pocket, and pulled his phone out, reading the message from Nick.  
" _Try to woo her or smthn. Remember r promise?"_

They stopped in front of the alleyway where the van was parked, and Nick hopped out of the passenger seat. Miles stepped out from the back to switch seats, and called out to Nick,

"Hey, you need your MG?"

"Leave it, i don't want Finn getting any ideas with it." He pointed a finger at Miles, then raised an eyebrow. Miles nodded with a thumbs up.

Judy drove back onto the freeway, and Miles rolled down the window, looking to the horizon of trees that led out of town. He thought about every single time he was alone with Judy, and how he felt awful with every single chance of her thinking or feeling a different way. He placed his cheek on his fist and thought of what to say.

"Hey, Jude?"

"Yeah." She kept her eyes on the road.

"I was wondering… What are your thoughts on, well, us?"

She was confused by what he meant.

"What do you mean by 'us'?"

"I mean, like how do you feel about our friendship?"

She looked at him with a small grin, then looked back at the road.

"Well, i was amazed at myself with how quickly we connected. To be honest, i don't think i would _ever_ let a coworker into my home that fast, let alone even allow them to stay with me-"

"And i can pay you back if you need me to!" Miles cut her off, but Judy giggled.

"It's completely fine, Miles. I guess it's just nice having some company after owning a home for a little over a year."

She sniffed then took a breath.

"I'm just glad you were able to put up with me when i, you know, went overboard…"

Miles smiled and looked at her.

"I can't let you go out like that Jude. You offered me a place to stay, food… Hell, even introducing me to Nick was a hell of a decision at the time, but i'm glad."

Judy noticed the sign saying "You are now leaving Zootopia".

"Yeah, i'm glad we met, Miles."

He smiled, but remembered again what Nick was asking of him again. He thought of another question.

"So, if it's too much to ask of you, you don't have to answer, but, Nick had explained that you have strong opinions toward…"

She already knew what he was gonna ask.

"Inter-species relationships. Yeah."

Miles felt her become defensive, so he chose to coast his question through it.

"So, why then? If it's too much, then again, you don't have to answer."

She closed her eyes, then opened them again, keeping them on the road.

"It's not like it involves reputation, i just really…"

Miles guessed the next phrase.

"You don't want to be given shit for it."

She shrugged at him.

"Guess that's one way of saying it. But it's also… I just wouldn't want my partner going through that same pain…"

Miles noticed how she didn't say "Nick", so he felt better knowing that his plan could be done easier.

"That's understandable Judy. But this is where you need to be willing to give everything you've got as long as their doing the same. Otherwise, the entire relationship was just a failure."

Judy looked at him as he explained.

"You can't just expect the relationship between two completely different species to work like magic. Yes, you will be given shit for it, but there's no law against it… Nobody can stop you. And if you let them get to you, then who is _really_ the coward?"

She thought to herself about what could be possible if it was a norm for once, how different everything would be in Zootopia, maybe even outside as well.

"Not to mention how you need to promise to be strong. And your partner needs to be willing to do that as well. That's how the love stays alive. That bond that one in a million can have. If not a million, then maybe it's just you, and that other special someone you love. Because not everyone sees love the same way. That's why so many people look down upon separate species dating. They see it as experimentation, not love."

Judy was convinced. Not just by Miles, but also by Nick's words when he pleaded to her. She loved Nick to death as a friend, but she just never saw anything within him. Miles was a different story to her however. His background, tenacity, and overall calm tone had given him the edge to her.

"Thank you, Miles. I understand now."

He smiled, letting a huge sigh of relief go off in his mind.

"Any time Jude."

They were driving onto a dirt road now, getting closer to Judy's parents' farm. Miles pulled his phone from his pocket, messaging Nick with the news.

" _Give me three days. Then i can re-direct her to you. I won't do anything physical, alright?"_

A funny trait about Miles's texting ability, was how he never messaged shorthand. Nick then replied.

" _U promise, Miles? Ths mns evrythng 2 me…"_

Miles had a straight face of promise followed by a small grin of re-assurance from sending the text.

" _I am willing to put my life on it. Farthest i'll go is verbal. No pics, texts, nothing but kind words."_

Nick answered one more time.

" _Thank u. Ths means so much, u have no idea.."_

Judy pulled up to the front of the farm, and turned off the engine, sitting there for a moment.

"Something wrong?" Miles asked.

"I just hope you don't think my parents are bad…"

She quickly exited the car, with Miles following her.

"You want to talk?" He asked.

"I don't know." She answered. "Let's see if they'll even let you speak."

Judy walked alongside Miles to the front door, and stood behind her as she knocked. There was a moment of silence, and the door's lock was heard, opening to reveal Judy's mother.

"Judy! How good to see you!" She quickly hugged her, catching her off guard, as she hugged back. Miles smiled at the sight.

"Who's your friend here?" She asked, keeping her hands together now.

Judy chuckled, but Miles stiffened his stance with a grin, saluting her with his name.

"Captain Feral. At your service Mrs. Hopps."

He bowed, and Judy's mother giggled.

"Well, how polite! Stu! Come meet Judy's partner!"

Judy's father came from the hallway leading to the door, and also noticed Judy, acknowledging her presence.

"Jude! Hiya sweetie!" He gave her a much more relaxed hug, also noticing Miles.

"Who's he?"

Bonnie explained before Miles could repeat himself.

"That's Mr. Feral, Judy's partner!"

"Partner…?" Stu asked in confusion. But Miles and Judy both immediately tried to shut that idea out of his mind, claiming that it was a "work term", and they actually weren't together. Either way, he laughed it off and held out his hand to Miles.

"Well, anyway, welcome to the farm!"

Miles shook his hand with a firm grip.

Thank you, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you two. And you can call me Miles if you'd like."

They smiled and nodded to his answer, then turned back to Judy.

"So, Jude the dude! What brings you back home?" Stu asked.

"Well, there was a few busts of a substance being leaked over town, and, well, we think we know where the supplier is located.

"That's great news, honey!" Bonnie said. "What made you need to tell us though?"

Judy looked back at Miles, hoping he would finish the answer.

"We, believe the warehouse is located in Bunnyburrow… And Judy wanted to talk to you about some things before we seal the confirmation."

Bonnie gasped from the fear, and Stu's eyes widened.

"The abandoned warehouse down there?" He pointed, leading down the road to several other buildings.

"Maybe. Miles is gonna go and check it out, i need to speak with you guys."

Miles agreed, nodded at Judy's parents, then took the keys to the cruiser, driving off to check on the building. Judy was then let into the house, and they sat in the living room, talking about the situation.

"Nick is involved too, he's just at home right now, preparing himself for tomorrow."

"Preparing?" Bonnie asked, worried.

"Yeah. And i wanted to let you guys know to keep the kids near the house tomorrow, and if things get worse, then just stay inside, okay?"

"Judy, what kind of police action is gonna take place?!" Stu asked.

She sighed, then pulled her black vest out, showing them a second time.

"That's the key, i'm not a police officer tomorrow."

They noticed the several loaded magazines on her vest.

"Special Operations. We go in, clear everybody out, and let the police go back and check everything."

Her parents were now worried more than ever for her life, and Stu mentioned something with a chuckle.

"You know, when you first became a police officer, i was hoping you weren't gonna witness anybody being hurt too badly, but now that i see that this is a thousand times worse…"

Bonnie held onto his hand.

"It's like i could compare how safe being a meter maid was to being a police officer…"

Bonny patted his back as he closed his eyes in fear for her safety, also knowing they can't stop her; she was 25, she wasn't under age, she couldn't be stopped unless by force, and they both knew better. Judy looked down and felt bad for the way they were taking this, so she made a promise.

"I swear i'll come back. Okay?"

"In one piece?" Bonnie begged.

Judy took one step further.

"If i'm injured in any way, then i'll retire."

They both looked up from her serious offer, and tried to convince her not to do anything ridiculous, but she stayed firm.

"We'll be here if you need anything tomorrow, okay?"

Judy nodded, and a knock was heard on the door.

Judy answered, revealing Miles.

"It is." Was the two words that were uttered from the fear in his voice. Judy looked back at her parents, and gave them a big hug, not wanting to let go for her sake. But Judy knew what she needed to do. She stood up, thanked them for the visit, and left with Miles to the cruiser. But before Miles got into the cruiser, Stu ran outside, and called his name, asking him for a favor. Miles walked up to him, and held his hand.

"Please, take care of her. She means so much to us."

Miles nodded with narrow eyes of promise, and answered.

"I will with all i've got, sir. And i'm sure Nick i'll guard her with his life."

He shook his hand again, thanking him for his promise, then they left, Miles driving the cruiser this time. They drove along the highway for a while, and Miles thought of another idea for Judy. He took her hand from the center of the console, locked his fingers with hers, and stayed there. In his mind, the entire time he did this, he constantly reminded himself that this was or Nick, and he couldn't have anyone else. Not after his loss of _the one._

Judy looked at Miles's hand with hers as he drove.

"We're gonna be okay, i'll make sure of it."

His palm shook within hers, and she could feel the tension of the situation they would face. Everything she thought he was willing to do stuck in her mind; his promise of keeping everyone safe, not putting himself first, and even his explanation on how people don't always see a touchy topic the same way. She thought very carefully of what to say next, and spoke, looking at him.

"I love you."

A bomb went off in his chest. He knew this would kill her if he had to tell her the reason he was acting this way. But this was for Nick. Not his sake. Reminding himself, over and over again, knowing that this was for Nick, and that he will never fall for anyone until he finds the one that got away.

Trying to keep a strained, realistic tone, he faked his way through the next four words.

"I love you too."

This would burn a hole in his chest for the rest of the night, maybe even the next day; as they would be infiltrating the warehouse tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.

(AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS)

*****So i realized i have a very consistent way of contacting or chatting followers; i'm a huge meme addict, so if you want to just chat or view the sh*tty memes i post, my username is "DewJunkie66". Thanks, and one again, please leave a review. Everyone's voice matters.*****


	15. Chapter 15

****AUTHOR'S NOTES****

(I apologize for the week-late upload, i had to take care of some things at school, better than waiting a month lol. Enjoy.)

CHAPTER 15:

The morning was very quiet for Judy, but just as productive as any of her other days. She woke up, sitting in her bed, and thinking about her promise to her parents. "I'll retire." She muttered after thinking about herself being injured. She stood up, only wearing undergarments, stretching, and going to take a shower. Miles woke up, hearing the noise of the shower going off. He was shirtless again, but it was out of comfort. He usually overheated when he slept, and it was still pretty warm when he had just pants on. Out of respect and decency, he never dressed down any more. He turned over in his sleep, trying to gain a few more minutes of rest into his system.

Judy walked down after her shower was finished, and stepped into the laundry room, behind the stairs, and took out last night's' load. She walked back into the living room, wearing only undergarments and a t-shirt. She stood in front of Miles as he woke up, rubbing his eyes.

"Wha-?" He realized what judy was wearing, and covered his view with his forearm, looking away as well.

"Sorry!" He said, still surprised from his trance of waking up.

Judy laughed, then threw his work clothing onto him, his shirt covering his face. She walked away, carrying her own clothing, and looked at him as she walked up the steps.

"Figured you've seen more than that, Captain!"

Miles took the shirt off his head, and looked at it, realizing it was his own police uniform. He shook his head, and quickly slid on the shirt, also switching pants as well. Judy came back down in a similar timing, also suited up. She walked into the kitchen to make something to eat, while Miles picked up his rifle case. He held it in his hands, then pulled the actual gun out by its barrel. He then held it in his hands, admiring the polymer and steel components. Judy noticed him, just standing there in a trance.

"You okay?" She asked after swallowing a mouthful of flakes.

He shook, then nodded, putting the butt of the rifle on the ground.

"Yeah, i just…"

He sat down on the couch, lying the rifle against the wall, and placing his face in his paws. Judy jumped up, and quickly walked over to Miles, holding to shoulder.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

Miles began to sniffle, and looked at the ground instead of her.

"You know…" He began, garnet eyes flaring with gloom. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you or Nick, right?"

She smiled, hoping the contagiousness would hit him too. Instead, small tears started forming. He sniffed, and made a frustrated groan, trying to mask his fearful tears. Judy could tell how scared he was, and she wasn't afraid to admit how scared she was as well. But when Judy noticed how hurt or terrified someone else was, she never payed attention to herself until she _knew_ that they were okay.

"Of course Miles! And Nick and i are willing to defend you in the line of duty if need be. We're there for you!" She tried to keep smiling, but Miles just nodded, trying to suppress the sniffles as she tried comforting him. Miles was more terrified than ever to be an officer, but he knew the price to defend those he loved. She leaned closer to him as he slowed the tear flow, and she softly spoke.

"Oh, Miles…"

She tried to lean in for a kiss, but Miles noticed just in time to lean back, faking a swipe of his nose, then stood up with her, speaking, trying to get rid of his sorrowful voice.

"C'mon, let's get ready for today."

She nodded, thinking about her decision. Was that out of love? Lust? Sympathy? She couldn't decide. She chose to ignore it for the rest of the morning as she got her gear ready.

They drove to Nick's van first, picking him up from the broken door on the back. He hopped into the back seat, looking at his phone the entire time with a grin. Miles constantly looked into the rearview mirror, always realizing Nick was looking at his phone.

"How have you been Nick?" Miles asked.

He looked up, smiling at both of them as he answered.

"Fine. I learned how to use that PC we got from James at the shock collar."

Judy didn't understand.

"PC? When did you get one?"

"We went to get that cell phone hacked to find the address of the user, and the guy who helped us, James, gave the PC to us because he didn't want to be a part of hacking anymore."

Judy nodded in understanding.

"But anyway, i learned how to do this!"

A moment of silence passed, and Miles scoffed.

"That was amazing."

His phone vibrated. Judy heard, and Miles pulled his phone out, handing it to her.

"Could you check who that is?" He asked. Judy looked into his phones notifications, but nothing showed up.

"There's nothing."

The phone suddenly vibrated vigorously in Judy's hand, almost making her drop it. Nick began laughing from the back seat.

"What the hell is that?!" Miles asked, now intrigued.

"I learned how to get into your phone by tracing your number! I now have access to anything in your device." Nick was only being half serious.

"Yeah right." Miles called him out, and Nick was now completely serious.

"Oh yeah? Watch me."

He fumbled with his phone, then held it in between the seats of the driver and passenger.

"Hmm… What's in your search history, cap?"

Miles's smile died down to a straight face of tension. Nick began scrolling with his thumb on his phone.

"Cute cats, hot cats, wet cats."

Judy's face got red just from hearing about the search results, and Miles's face stayed straight.

"Cute, hot, wet cats-"

"That's enough!" Miles barked, and Nick retreated to his seat laughing. Judy slowly placed Miles's phone back onto the dashboard of the cruiser, patting it in sympathy.

"Keep in mind that this was a few years ago. So i have no reason to now."

Nick grinned and nodded, patting his shoulder.

They drove up to the police station, and parked the cruiser about six spots away from the front door. Miles got out first, and began stretching his arms as he walked to the glass doors. Nick and Judy paced at the same time, now following Miles. They walked together through the doors, with the usual amount of business going on within the building. Secretaries running around with stacks of papers, phones going off and a decent volume of average talking. Benjamin at one point, wanted to acknowledge the three's efforts in stopping the source of the drug, but he felt they were stressed enough, so he just decided to smile and wave in appreciation.

They entered the debrief room, with the other thirteen officers sitting and waiting for Bogo's soundout.

"Stand up here. All three of you."

They did as they were told, and faced the room.

"Everyone. I had never imagined that i would ever say these next words, but now, i'm very Confident in doing so."

The right eyebrow raise seemed to fall across the room for Bogo's response.

"I am proud of these three officers."

Miles didn't really take it to heart because he wasn't trying to win respect, but this was a whole new level for Nick and Judy. The two years of working her way up from meter maid to Lieutenant, as well as Nick following up to Sergeant. They always wanted to stay on Bogo's good side, and finally, they had reached that milestone. At first from hearing it, however, they looked at Bogo with disbelief.

"Especially for you two, Nicholas, and Judith."

Miles then smiled out of their triumphant victory, proud of them being able to stand up to the challenge Miles was already willing to face.

"These two cadets, here, first came into the station, knowing that there were going to be challenges to face, and threats to detain. They did all of that and more, and now, with the help of an experienced captain, they have achieved that goal finally."

Nick gave a grin of pride, and Judy had a smile that beamed.

"Miles has probably been given this speech already, but i chose to keep him up here for their sake." Bogo continued.

Miles then began to smile in promise as well, knowing he would do whatever it took to keep his squadmates safe. Bogo then stepped down with something in his hands, and handed it to the three of them.

"Here is your recognition templates. In less than an hour, you can turn these in, and earn an I.D. tag."

Judy took the paper from Bogo, reading down the list of things to fill out. Their age, blood type, gender, and a second section describing if they want a quote or something else for the back of their I.D. tag. She looked at Nick's paper, who was also given the same options.

"These are your symbols of bravery, honesty, and integrity. Hold them close with pride."

The three looked up at Bogo, with a salute, then bogo continued to explain the plan for the raid that day.

"These three will be going in, fully equipped with heavy weapons, clearing the building out, and looking for anything important. Once they call us in, that's our green light to secure the place. Understood?"

Everyone answered with a "Yes sir!"

Bogo then nodded, signalling the three to leave the room to fill out their I.D. tag forms.

The day passed by with slowness, waiting until 5:00 PM was a dragging segment for Judy, because she was so set on getting this plan carried out. Nick was just as serious as Judy was about making sure the plan was to work, he just didn't mind the wait. Miles felt like the time was flying by however; he was dreadful for having to let his squadmates get in harm's way along with him.

"You think we could just wait in a cruiser until the time comes?" Judy asked, trying to pass the time.

"We have orders, Carrots." Nick answered. "We wait until deployment."

Miles nodded in confirmation.

"Even if we did wait, i think they would notice a cruiser down the road waiting for us."

Judy nodded, then closed her eyes, trying to speed through time.

The sun began to rise over the dome of what Zootopia was, allowing the buildings to shine again, then leaned to the east side of the city, around 4:00. At this point, the three were in the firing range, with Miles firing rounds from his Desert Fox at the target down the line. Fast, efficient, clean strokes of firepower were produced, typically a seven out of nine was set as an average for his accuracy. Nick felt the need to compete, not against Miles, but himself. Remembering that nine out of 15 ratio.

"Challenging me, Nikki?" Miles asked with a grin.

"Nah, just need to touch up on my accuracy." He replied, loading a magazine into his .45 .

A beep was heard for his lane, and almost as fast as Miles, he unloaded all rounds into his target. The paper slid back to him, revealing an accuracy statistic of 14 out of 15.

Miles however, took that as a challenge. He looked over at nick, scoffing at him with a grin. Nick threw his signature smile back at him.

"Alright tough guy," Miles spoke, loading one more magazine into his .44,  
"Watch this." He held up his firearm with one arm, keeping a firm grip with his right hand.

The timer went off, and Miles fired the gun slightly slower than before, but controlled the recoil, transferring it to his elbow after each shot. The magazine emptied, and the paper flew back, showing his accuracy test as an eight out of nine.

Nick nodded with a grin, holding his hands up.

"You got me, Cap'."

Miles smiled as he put his gun down, now stretching his shoulder out.

"Hey, it's almost 4:30, should we get going?"

Miles nodded, now placing his weapon in his chest-holster.

"C'mon."

They drove down the highway, through several street corners, and eventually onto the highway leading out to Bunnyburrow. The bridge seemed to be the longest part of the drive, compared to the two-thirds of a mile driven within downtown Zootopia for Miles. Judy was the one driving this time, and she noticed the sunset gleaming across the bridge. There were almost no vehicles within the other three lanes, just the four separate cruisers behind them, waiting for a back-up call. Judy had a quick moment of reminiscence after seeing the sun setting, thinking about the drive she had with Miles in his vehicle, remembering his story about _the one that got away_.

Miles picked up the police scanner microphone, and spoke in a serious tone.

"Units following cruiser A, we need you to make the citizens of Bunnyburrow aware that there is going to be police activity; let them know to keep their children inside, and stay aware of any further callouts."

Cruiser C answered.

"10-4 A, anything else?"

Miles thought for a moment, then counted the number of cruisers behind them.

"Set up a roadblock on both sides of town. Two in the front next to our vehicle, three in the back."

"Affermative."

They slowed down to the front of Stu and Bonnies house, and Miles exited the vehicle, retrieving their arms from the trunk. Nick hopped into the passenger seat and sat still, closing his eyes. At this point, Nick and Judy were in the same state of mind; fearful, but vigilant. Judy held a fist out to Nick, looking at him.

"Ready to make the world a better place?" She asked with a small grin.

Nick answered with a smile, fist-bumping back.

"I'm by your side, Carrots."

They exited the vehicle, and took their arms from Miles, who held his own rifle by its sling. They stood by each other, while two cruisers lined up with theirs, and Chief Bogo exited one of the cruisers, signaling the three.

"Cadets." He called out.

All three of them looked back.

"Good luck. Give us the signal when you need us."

They all nodded, then began walking down the road, carrying their weapons in hand. Nick noticed the other officers explaining to the residents that there was going to be a small confrontation, and the homeowners looked at them as they walked down the road. The further they walked down the line, the quieter it had gotten. At one point, younger bunnies or other animals had noticed them, and immediately stopped playing. In fact, they ran inside after they saw the three of them. Even then, some of the young ones looked through the curtains of the windows, trying not to be seen. They had arrived to the large building, almost big enough to look like a hangar.

"Heads up." Nick spoke, noticing two wolves guarding the door. They had no weapons, but they wore very rugged clothing, looking like they could be carrying a weapon. Judy walked slightly faster, and Miles had tried to keep her pace to slow her, but she didn't notice.

"Excuse me, gents," Judy began. "We had noticed some suspicious activity within this area, and we were wondering if we could just take a look around."

The two looked at each other, and shrugged. One of them speaking, with an accent similar to Mr. Big.

"Mmm, nope. Nothin' goin' on here." He smiled.

Judy smiled back, trying to one-up the wolf's attitude.

"Well then, it shouldn't be a problem that we go around and check, right?"

They looked at each other again, and the other wolf then flashed a small weapon hiding underneath his belt. Judy immediately backed up, and pointed her SMG at him, yelling at him to put their hands up. But the other wolf quickly pulled his pistol out and aimed it at Judy, ready to fire the weapon. Nick immediately dashed up to the hostile wolf, and pushed his wrist up with such force, that the gun flew from his hands and hit the ground, discharging the round in the chamber. The other wolf suddenly pulled the pistol out of his belt, and fired a round at Judy, but missed by an inch, hitting the ground behind them. Miles quickly shot the wrist of the wolf with precision, and he screamed in pain. Nick struggled with the wolf he had, and Judy immediately took down the wounded hostile, both being handcuffed in unison. Miles had a shake in his voice as he spoke into his walkie talkie.

"We've got a discharged weapon, don't worry. They've been detained."

There was a beep in confirmation, and Miles fell to a knee, letting out a breath of stress.

"Cripes…"

Two officers came running down from their positions, and taking the wolves into custody.

"Jeez, why is there blood down his arm?"

"Captain fired in defense from one of the hostiles trying to shoot me." Judy answered.

There was a loud commotion on the other side of the door suddenly, and the five officers froze. 'Quickly, get those two to a cruiser." Nick said as he drew his MG.

The two officers nodded, walking the hostile wolves away, as Nick lined up with Judy behind the door. Miles was on the other side of the door, and thought about something.

"We need to flash them before we enter." he spoke.

"But we didn't come prepared…" Judy answered.

Nick though for a moment. He then looked to the top of the building, noticing a window.

"Hey, Miles, how far can you throw?"

He glared at him, now noticing the second story window.

"Wait why?"

"I'm climbing through the window, help me up."

"No!" Miles objected. "I'm not letting you get in harm's way!"

"C'mon, Cap!" Nick exclaimed, "I'm lighter than you, and i've got more ammo, just let me go!"

"Both of you stop!" Judy answered.  
They both looked at her, as she stood with her weapon drawn.

"Launch me." She ran about ten feet back, ready to jump off of one of their paws.

"Judy…" Miles started.

"Here i come!" She yelled, running in between the two. Nick and Miles looked at eachother for a split second, then held their arms together, ready to launch her. She hopped up onto their forearm, with her weapon cradled in her own, and with her strength and agility, she sprung to the ledge before the window, now dropping her weapon, allowing it to hang by its sling. She pulled herself up slowly, but also pushing the window in as she kneeled herself into the edge.

"Be careful Jude…" Nick spoke as she crawled into the window. Miles was speechless. Terrified, irritated, and speechless. Their radios went off.

"It's empty…" Judy spoke through static.

"Entering then." Nick confirmed, stacking up on the door in front of Miles.

Miles slowly opened the door, pointing his rifle barrel into the room, looking around for any hostiles. Nothing showed up, so he moved in with Nick covering his rear. Judy looked down, seeing the two scan the area. She talked again into her walkie talkie to their earpiece.

"I see some movement up ahead."

Nick nodded, meeting eyes with Miles. They then nodded at each other, and split up between the maze of several cargo crates spanned across the interior of the warehouse. They stepped quietly through the concrete area, with Judy giving an overwatch of the place. It was a cool atmosphere, with no humidity coming from the 80 degree weather outside.

A target was found outside of a door leading from the bridge above the floor. Judy kept her weapon drawn as she crept up on the tiger with a pistol. He was looking the other way, trying to get a crack at the door.

"Drop the gun, and come with me." Judy spoke, pushing the barrel of her PDW into his back. He froze, and had lowered his gun to the ground, keeping his other hand in the air. Judy then pulled his belt to guide him backwards, and switched him around, walking him the other way on the scaffolding. She spoke quietly into her radio receiver.

"Calling for two more units. Got another one jumping from the window. Second story."

"Affirmative." A unit called back. Judy then spoke to the tiger, keeping his hands at his side.

"Jump out of the window."

"What?!" He growled.

"Jump." She dug the barrel deeper into his back. "Now."

He nodded, then looked out the window, realising there was a catching pad waiting for him. He then climbed out of the window, and hesitantly jumped to two units larger than him.

Nick then called through the radio to Miles and Judy.

"Guys! The room where that target was at is full of 'em!"

"What?" Judy asked.

"Seriously!" He said, straining his voice. Murmurs could be heard through the wall, and eventually, Nick cursed underneath his breath and the radio went silent.  
"Nick?" Miles called. "Nick! Damn!"

Judy quickly paced over to the door, and listened very carefully to what was being said.

"We need to leave, got it?" A gruff voice spoke. "The place is gonna be swarming with cops in the next day or so, and we need to get rid of the evidence!"

Judy almost immediately burst through the door, but she listened some more.

"What's your solution then, vince?" Another voice spoke. "Should we just push it into the bay behind us?!"

"I have I.E.D.'s rigged to blow this place." A third voice spoke. "Once i press this button, then we have five minutes to disappear."

Judy couldn't let that happen. Especially in her hometown. But before she kicked the door down, a bang was heard, and Miles's voice boomed through the room.

"ZPD! Put your hands up!"

Judy kicked the door open, aiming her weapon at the six beings at a table. Miles did the same, and a window led to the other side of the warehouse. Five of the members were male animals, and the sixth was a female fox.

"Drop it!" Judy yelled at the fox, who was now holding up a trigger device.

"Make me." She said with a grin.

The window broke behind her, and Nick jumped through, holding his MG. But the force of the glass breaking pushed her, and she set off the trigger out of strain.

"Shit!" Judy said, now moving toward Miles and Nick.

"You've got five minutes to get out of this deathtrap!" The fox yelled, now dashing past Judy, knocking the barrel of her weapon up, causing her to lose traction and failing to keep her focus on her.  
"Stop!" Nick screamed, now shooting at the doorway, but missing the shot. Nick then sprinted to her, having his weapon dangle at his side by its strap, chasing the Fox in heels. She quickly jumped over the railing of the scaffolding, landing onto the top of a cargo container. Nick followed, now jumping across several cargo crates, and landing onto the ground with a roll. The foxes' tail wrapped around her as she did this, but Nick was more than 20 feet back. He noticed a pipe about eight feet from the container, just before the doorway, where the fox was about to sprint through. He jumped, grabbing ahold of the pipe, and using leverage to throw himself ten feet behind her. They were outside now, and Nick could see the roadblock at the end of the road, but the fox turned left, now leading to the side of the warehouse, where a small sports car waited with its door open.

She quickly jumped in, and Nick caught up, bashing the window with the stock of his MG, but the fox sat there and grinned, turning on the vehicle, and trying to back up. Nick grabbed ahold of the vehicle by its spoiler, now pulling his sidearm out, and firing a round at the back window. It cracked, but it did not shatter. Nick fired two more rounds, but it was no use; the vehicle had bullet proof glass as far as he was concerned.

The vehicle then spun its rear end to the right, throwing Nick into the dirt road, causing him to roll it off. He then stood up, hoping that the vehicles blocking her would be enough, but she took a chance, and blasted through the tail of one vehicle, and the hood of another. The two spun out and caused several officers to be pushed out of the way.

Nick now stood there in frustration and anger, and pulled up his walkie talkie.

"We lost her."

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard behind him, and Nick was tackled by Judy and Miles, who yelled, "Get down!"  
The building's interior let off a loud boom, with a large fireball of red and black reaching the sky. The others who took part in the fabrication of the substance also escaped, but they were taken down and detained by police. The three then scampered to the opposite side of the road, admiring the wreckage. The infrastructure of the building collapsed on itself, with the heat of the flames and smoke dawning on them.

"Damn it." Nick growled, standing up. Judy and Miles brushed the dirt off of themselves, following Nick as he answered Judy's question.

"I lost her." He growled through his teeth. "The fox that we had in that room."

Judy tried holding his shoulder.

"It's okay, Nick…"

He shrugged her paw off, snapping back.

"No, it's not okay, Jude! We lost one of the most devastating events to ever take place! Now this epidemic is gonna get worse as we keep trying to find them!"

Judy looked down, feeling like she angered Nick. Nick noticed, then sighed turning around.

"I'm sorry… I was just really looking forward to doing the right thing, you know?" He faked a grin. "Trying to make the world a better place…"

Judy smiled from his answer, then kept walking.

"We better let Bogo know what's going on." She spoke.

"Uh, i got you guys on that. You go on ahead." Miles said.

He quickly walked off as Nick wondered why he was so quick to answer.

"Miles?"

Judy went home after dropping Nick off, and sitting on the couch with the T.V. on, but she was texting her parents the entire time instead. Miles walked through the door around 8:30 at night.

"Hey there!" She said in a bright tone.

Miles nodded, putting his rifle down by the door, then stretched really far.

"You alright?" She asked, wondering about his silence.

"Yeah." He answered, finishing his stretch. "I talked to Bogo about the situation, he said that we have to keep an eye out now after the public announcement is aired."

Judy turned up the T.V. and pointed at the screen.  
"This?"

The T.V. showed the anchor explain the events that took place in bunnyburrow that day, and the announcement came up.  
"We have a public service announcement for the citizens of Zootopia, and surrounding areas. There is a wanted suspect on the loose, although we don't have confirmation on a name or identity. All we understand is that it is a female fox, wearing a gray suit and a pair of black high-heels. This is the suspect for creating the Sv2 serum itself, so please, if you see this suspect, stay in your homes, call the ZPD, and explain where they are."

The news station then continued its regular broadcast as Miles stood in confirmation.

"Yup, Bogo went to ZNN about it, so they'll be reporting this for the next 48 hours."

Judy nodded, then shut off the television, standing up and stretching.

"Well, i'm gonna go and get some sleep. You might want to too. It's been a long day."

Miles nodded, sitting down on the couch, then setting the pillows up where he lied his head.

"G'night Judy." Miles said, laying his hands on his chest.

"Good night." She said, walking up the stairs.

Miles felt like he was going to be able to sleep soundly knowing that nobody was harmed to an extreme, but something clicked in the back of his mind the moment he saw that fox. He couldn't put his mind on what it was, but it bugged him in the back of his head.

****AUTHOR'S NOTES****  
I'm glad this routine is getting faster with the uploads, and as a quick update, i maybe posting on Quotev as well.


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16:

Judy woke up to screaming and roaring from downstairs at three in the morning. She was only in her underclothes as she sprinted down the hallway, through the stairs and where Miles was. He was still lying down, but he was throwing punches into the air and calling out several phrases as he screamed.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU BOTH, I SWEAR ON MY LIFE!"

Judy immediately ran to him and held his arms down as he strained to gain release, through this he continued to scream slurs of murder and hatred, but Judy assumed that this was just a night terror. She began to try to calm hm as he spazzed and shook in anger.

"Miles! Miles! Wake up! It's just a dream!"

He continued to shake as she had him underneath her grasp, and eventually, he froze as he began to stare into her eyes. He then eased his movement as he regained his consciousness.

"Get off." He said in a low tone. He wasn't angry, he just wanted to understand what he did to scare her so much. She did as she was told, and Miles sat up, with his hands on his knees, letting out a sigh.

"Did you have a nightmare?" She asked.

He nodded, keeping his eyes on the floor.

"I've already told you where i was from right?" He asked.

Judy nodded, rubbing his bare shoulder.

"Have i told you the things i've seen?" He asked again.

She sat still, and Miles looked at her for an answer. She shook her head.

"Well… When i told you what my parents were doing after i became a recruit, things got progressively worse."

He held his head as he spoke, trying to ignore the headache.

"How worse?" She asked.

"When i found out my parents were creating a new drug to supply the underground community, i didn't know how to handle it."

He put his hands together, trying to contain himself.

"I was upset that my parents lied, but i also didn't want to turn them in because i loved them so much."

He lowered his head, and his ears went down.

"I just couldn't control myself after what my dad said…"

Judy sat closer to him, placing a paw on his forearm.

"What did he tell you…" She asked worried.

" _You knew this was going to happen_." He answered in a quiet voice.

"I remember screaming at him about how they lied to me, and how they told me i could do anything as long as they were by my side, but they turned their backs on me… I started throwing things, my dad tried stopping me, and we started throwing punches in anger."

He started to grit his teeth in fury from remembering that night.

"I fucken' wrapped my hands around his neck, as tight as i could, and my mom came in screaming at both of us. She had a knife in her hands, and i slapped her…"

Judy covered her mouth in shock.

"I then went back to my dad, and…"

He covered his face with his paws, holding back tears and anger.

"It was just so fast… T-the blood… The g-gore… All of it…"

He started to breath slowly through his teeth as he tried to explain the last piece of info.

"I ran from home that night. I rented a storage unit with what money i had left, and i slept in a car for the next three months. The RPD then accused me of murdering somebody, but not my dad… I could even barely understood what happened that night."

He wiped his nose with his arm and sat straight up.

"They gave me two choices, and i chose to move to Zootopia. That's why i was so grateful to meet you guys. Accepting me for who i was, how i acted, and even making sure i was doing okay…"

Judy smiled from his strength.

"Thank you for telling me. I was really worried for a while."

She hugged him. Miles hugged her back and sniffed.

"Thank you for waking me up… I'm glad i didn't worry you."

Two days. That was what Miles had left in his mind as he woke up before Judy did. Her usual time was around 8:30 AM, but Miles didn't sleep after he woke up. He spent the rest of the time quietly watching T.V. and thinking about what Judy would want for breakfast. Miles ended up going to the fish market in tundra town at 5 AM to purchase smoked salmon. He then just arrived back at her house around the 7:45 mark, and began cooking as quietly as he could. The scent of fish filled the air as he threw lemon, salt and pepper, and a small bit of Maple syrup for flavor. It was now 8:30, and her alarm could be heard after three rings.

"Morning Jude." He chuckled to himself.

Judy stepped down the stairs and noticed that he wasn't lying on the couch.

"Cap?" She called out, now noticing that he was in the kitchen as he finished preparing the salmon dish.

"Right here Ma'am." He smiled, taking the dish with a fork to the table, and holding her seat for her.

"Wow… How early did you wake up to do this?"

She sat down and scooted herself in, admiring the scent of lemon salmon emitting from her dish. She loved it. And Miles could tell as well, just as he sat down.

"I was up around seven. Figured i should make up for how i woke you from last night."

She took a bite as she understood his intention, and gave a big smile.  
"Goodness where did you learn this dish?"

He looked down and grinned.

I honestly just looked up a nice way to make a breakfast dish, and i found this."

She took another bite and gave another smile.

"What about you?" She asked "Did you eat anything?"

"Yeah, i had some early ramen before getting here."

He lied. He didn't want her to worry about his health, so he changed the subject.

"I know today is our day off, but i was wondering if you were up for anything today."

She swallowed another bite.

"Sure, what do you have in store?"

He tried thinking of a way to explain his idea.

"Training?"

"What do you mean?"

He put his hands together, trying to find the words to explain the training procedures.

"Well, we need to be prepared for a scenario similar to the one we faced the night before."

She stood up and walked to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of orange juice.

"You mean like, tactician training?" She drank straight from the bottle.

"Yeah. And i can work with you and Nick if you'd like."

He smiled, and she grinned after putting the orange juice back.

"Sure. Here, i'll call Nick."

Miles nodded, and went back into the living room to go and pack any necessities.

"Hey Nikki?" Judy asked.

"Yeah." Nick answered, sounding focused.

"I wanted to call and let you know that we might need to train today. For work purposes."

Nick was on the desktop in his van. He took a drink from a bottle of water as he learned how to write scripts.

"Train? You mean like for our small group?"

"Yeah, Captain says he's willing to help us out with this, in case we enter another scenario like this again."

"Uh… sure. I'll meet up with you guys."  
Judy heard how focused he was at the moment.

"Is everything alright?"

Nick felt like he needed to tell the truth.

"I've been snooping around the internet with this new PC, and i think i found that cat."

"Cat?" Judy caught herself and immediately went to her room calling out to Miles.

"Be right back, Cap!"

She went to her room and closed the door behind her, speaking in a frantic tone.

"The cat Miles was talking about?!" She was skeptical.

"Well, again we have to draw some info out of her, not to mention i don't even know Miles's gametag from before."

Judy nodded, holding her side. She was happy for Miles's future, but with her confused, newfound feelings for him, she was feeling upset.

"Well, i hope you find what you can Nick, maybe we can fix things for him."

"Yeah. I'll meet up with you guys alright?"

"Alright, hold on." She left her room, and asked Miles.  
"Hey, where are we gonna be?"

He was loading his firearm as he spoke.

"I heard the naturalist club gives out free rental spaces."

Judy blushed from remembering and Nick could be heard laughing really hard over the phone.

"Hoo boy…" Judy grieved.

"What?" Miles asked.

"Alright Nick, you heard him, i'll call you back."

She hung up the phone, then gave Miles a look.

"You _do know_ what the naturalist club is, right?"

He gave a blank expression.

"No… but i heard they give free rental buildings."

Judy placed her paw on her forehead, trying to find the right way to explain.

"Well, they do yoga, mostly. And uh, they…"

She froze as she tried finding the right words, but Miles tried catching on.

"Uh oh. It's a nudist club, isnt it?"

She nodded as she blushed.

Miles rubbed the back of his head, over his ears, then onto his snout.

"Well, if it gives us a place to practice…" He shrugged.

They drove to the club just outside of downtown Zootopia, where the entire walled-off structure stayed. Nick was waiting for them out by the door with his smile. Judy walked up to him from Miles's car, annoyed.

"What are you so smug about, Nick?" She asked.

He smiled as he spoke.

"Oh, nothing. I just know how much you don't enjoy this place." He grinned.

Judy rolled her eyes to Miles, who was carrying bags of supplies and armor. They all wore casual clothing, but they couldn't just _walk in_ wearing their full load out. Miles put the bags on the ground.

"So, this is the place?" He asked.

"Yup!" Nick beamed. "Have you been to a nudist club before?"

Miles stretched his back, then slid a bag sling over his shoulder.

"Nope, but i'm not afraid to find out."

He pushed the front doors wide open with force from both hands. Nick grabbed the bag, and walked in with Judy, who was trying to look away. Yax, who was the receptionist, sat cross-hooved at the front desk, meditating. Miles put his hands in his pockets, and cleared his throat.

"Ohmmm…" Yax continued.

Miles spoke up.

"Uh, excuse me, sir?"

He coughed as he woke from his meditation.

"Oh, hey there, stranger!" He exclaimed. "Name's Yax, nice to meet you!"

Miles nodded, and Yax noticed Nick and Judy behind them.

"Hey, who are these two with you?"

Miles looked back as he explained.

"Sergeant Wilde and Lieutenant Hopps. We saw your ad for a free-"

"Wait," Yax interrupted, "The two who solved the Night Howler epidemic two years ago?!"

Judy answered.

"Y-yes, Yax, hi!" She awkwardly spoke.

Yax laughed, then leaned in.  
"What are you two doing here?"

"We, uh, came here with Miles to rent an open area." She laughed nervously. "Do you have one?"

Yax snorted and spat into a can next to him.

"Well, i think. I mean it wouldn't make sense not to have an ad, right?"

He picked up his daily sub to Zootopia Times, and read through the paper slowly, mumbling to himself.

"Uh, yeah! Here! Building 'J'." He answered.

"Great, thank you sir."

Miles began walking to the door behind him, but Yax held his hoof out in front of him.

"Whoa there, buddy, i can't let you go in with _those_ on you."

He signaled toward his clothes. Miles looked back at Nick and Judy as Judy tried objectifying.  
"Wait, what?" she answered. "You let us in last time with clothes on! Why not this time?!"

Yax slowly pushed Miles back to the desk where the other two were.  
"Well it's policy now, Jude. It's kind of unfair we have people doing yoga if they get to wear clothes, considering that those who believe in nudism have to follow all rules."

Judy blushed even brighter, and Nick bit his tongue to keep himself from laughing.

Miles then looked back at Judy, knowing that she was extremely uncomfortable about this.

"We'll rent it, Yax, just let me talk to Judy."

"You got it!" He answered.

Miles took Judy and Nick by the shoulder to the near entrance, and started whispering to them.

"Look, we just have to walk through without anything on until we reach the building. From then on, we can close the door and finally put our gear on."  
Judy nodded, trying to push the idea out of her mind.

"Fine, but i'm _not_ walking alone."

"That's cool with me." Nick answered, distracting himself with his phone.

Miles nodded, and gave the money needed to pay for renting the space to Judy.

"Go give this to Yax, i'm gonna explain to Nick what i dreamed of alright?"

She nodded, walking over to the desk. Miles then shook Nick's shoulder.  
"Hey, this is day one still, alright?"

Nick looked up at him and understood what he meant.  
"You haven't done anything with her, have you?"  
Miles shook his head.

"You know my morals Nick. Besides, i made her breakfast. That ought to make her more intrigued, alright?"

Nick nodded, looking down and holding the back of his neck. Miles shook his shoulder playfully.

"Hey, we're at a nudist club, for cripes' sake. You've got several chances to throw the attention around."

Nick gave a chuckle and Mies smiled.

"Alright Cap."

They all walked into the main area, with several different groups doing yoga, exercising in the park, or just walking around and socializing. Miles was focused on finding the building, wearing nothing but his bag, and Judy, who was also wearing nothing, tried to keep her head down, looking at her feet as she walked. Miles's stub of a tail caught her attention periodically, and drew her eyesight to the sides of her where she could see others. Nick was drawn to his phone as he walked, also carrying the other bag. He didn't wear anything either, but he didn't care.

"H, I, J! Here it is!" Miles called out, but Judy snatched the keys from his hands and ran to the door, her silver figure gleaming in the sunlight as she tried to open the door as quickly as she could. Nick laughed and Miles couldn't help but grin at how embarrassed she was.

"So much for sticking together." Nick pointed out.

They entered the large room, spanning an area of about 25 by 30 feet. Judy frantically threw her clothes on as Nick closed the door behind them.

"Jeez is that how quick you get ready in the morning?" Nick asked.

Judy shuddered after standing for a moment.  
"I can't believe i have to do that before i train…" she said.

Nick put his gear on as Miles did as well, but he tossed his phone next to the bag.

"If you have any valuables, take them off."

Judy and Nick did as they were told. Miles then stood in the center of the room, and made a point.

"Listen. I know that you have had proper self defense training when you went to the academy, but i feel like it's not enough."

He stiffened his stance.

"So i need you to understand. We are going to get hurt as we train, but it will help us get stronger. Got me?"

"Yes Captain." Judy answered. Nick nodded.

"Alright. Hit me."

They froze.

"Come on. I'm in defense mode. Hit me."

Nick took a step, then followed into a speed walk, followed by sprinting, into a heavy left hook. Miles leaned back quickly, and grabbed aold of Nicks elbow and shoulder, forcing him to the ground. He blew a loud puff of air from his chest.

"Sorry if that was rough. Up, again."

He helped Nick up, and brushed him off before he began to throw punches again. Miles took several to the chest, but was powering through it as he deflected several other attacks. Eventually, Nick brought a knee to his stomach, where Miles had his elbow ready to hit. It landed right above his kneecap, causing him to yelp in pain. Judy gasped from the sight, and Miles noticed.

"Don't be afraid to jump in, Judy!" He took a step back from Nick, who was recovering from the blow to his knee. Judy reluctantly began to run in, then jumping high into the air, launching a kick into his chest. Miles actually took the blow from this, and fell back onto his rear, rolling backwards to land on his knees. Judy immediately began apologising and saying how "that wasn't fair" but Miles laughed.

"That's what we're looking for, Lieutenant! Expect the unexpected!" He sprinted back at Judy, who was now hopping around, ready to move. Miles tackled her, attempting to restrain her, but Nick immediately pulled him off by his collar. Nick then ran toward Miles with a fist ready to hit, and landed the punch on his snout. Miles grabbed ahold of his waist though, and rolled over on top of him, pulling his arm behind his back. Judy sprang with a knee ready to hit him, but he ducked, hugging Nick's back as he reached for his other arm. A handcuff made it onto one of Nick's wrists, but Judy wrapped her arms around Miles's neck, causing him to choke. He backed off, grabbing his second pair of handcuffs, and latching one onto Judy's forearm. Miles then attempted a front flip, landing on his back with Judy still there, and Nick still lying on his chest. Miles pulled Judy's cuff to Nick's, and latched them together.

"That was good." He huffed, out of breath. "Come on, let's keep going."

Judy made a snide remark, trying to keep the light-hearted mood going.

"Drinks on you if i get you to the ground!"

Until about 8:30 at night, with a span of over ten hours of vigorous training, Nick, and Judy learned how to better defend themselves in hand to hand. From defending themselves against two other targets, to coming at an enemy with a melee weapon, they learned much more. Miles explained that these were tactics he picked up from living in Raccoon city, and he wanted to make sure that they could be used as soon as possible. Miles had one more practice he wanted to check though.

"Alright. I have one final practice. Okay?"

Judy, out of breath nodded. Nick spoke with a hoarse "Yeah." after drinking water.

Miles slowly pulled his gun out and pointed it at them both. They froze, having absolutely _no_ idea what was in store.

"You have a target pointing a gun at you. Disarm them."

Nick and Judy looked at each other.

"I mean it. I will pull the trigger in five seconds."

They flinched, trying to move.

"Four."

They dashed ahead and Judy did a backflip, kicking the gun out of his hands, high into the air. Nick then punched him square into the chest, knocking him into the ground. Judy then caught the gun from mid-air, then pointed it at Miles as he lied on the ground. Nick had his fists ready as he stood next to her.

"Damn." He chuckled. "I saw that happening a completely different way." Nick grabbed his hand and helped him up, and Judy handed him his gun back.

"Well, i think that's it. Anything else?" He asked.

Nick shook his head, but Judy spoke up.

"A drink." She smiled.

They left the building again, but this time, feeling a little bit better about walking with no clothing on. Nick walked behind Judy and next to Miles, but had an idea. Just before the gate to the main room, Nick quickly spanked her, dashing to the other side of Judy, and she yelped, blushing really bright again, then looking at Miles with an embarrassed face, before giving a small grin.

Miles caught onto what happened, and glared at Nick, who was trying to keep his laugh in. The re-entered the front room, and slid their regular clothes back on. Judy walked ahead and out the door, but Miles held Nick back for a moment.

"What the hell was that?!" He barked.

Nick giggled. "I was trying to help you get more of her attention." He smiled

"I said i wouldn't pull anything physical!" He growled.

"I know," the answered. "That's why i did it." He then walked outside, with Miles comprehending how he was right.

Judy was already in the vehicle, and said goodbye to Nick, but Miles slowly got into the seat, thinking that the move Nick pulled was a way to have Judy fall for him more. Miles almost entered his vehicle, but Nick stopped him.

"Hey, i've got a bit of a personal question to ask you." He spoke.

Miles turned and nodded, listening.

"Do you…" He wanted to be subtle. "Remember that cat's name online?"

Miles opened the door, then lied his head on his arms with the car door.

"Catato63… C-a-t-a-t-o-63" He spelled it out to make sure. Nick nodded, patting him on the shoulder.

Miles then got into the car and drove to a small diner with Judy, thinking of what to order.

"Drinks on me, right?"

She perked up, trying to be friendly.

"Oh, you don't have to, Cap! I just said that as a joke!"

Miles nodded with a smile, answering.

"I know, but i'm going to anyway. I have to drive us home, plus i have to say thank you somehow."

They stopped in front of a small trailer diner, and Miles exited the car with Judy following her. They entered the diner, looking for a two-seat table, and settled in the corner. Several other animals were there, but the loudest was a group of hyenas laughing and telling bad jokes. Judy overheard one of their really nasty jokes and rolled her eyes with a disgusted noise.

"What?" Miles asked.

"I heard an offensive joke from the pack down there."

They were both brought a glass of water from the waitress, and Miles took a sip as she explained. Miles couldn't hear as well as Judy, that's why she had such an issue with it.

"If bats are notorious for needing blood for their diet, then do you think female bats have tea once a month?"

Miles nearly spat out his drink. He tried not to chuckle but he also wanted to be serious.

"That's fucken' gross…"

A lioness waitress walked up to their table with a pen and pad, asking what they wanted.

"Uh, hook me up with the halibut. No lemon please."

Judy smirked.

"Hate sour stuff?"

"With a passion." He nodded.

Judy then gave her order.

"Salmon with fries please."

The waitress nodded and took their orders to the bar, where food was already being prepared.

They were silent the entire time they waited, and Miles felt like he needed to say something, but Judy was completely happy with just being there.

"So, back at the farm, what crops did you guys grow?"

He realised that was a really oblivious thing to ask a _rabbit_.

"I mean, aside from carrots."

She giggled, and answered.

"Well, we grew potatoes, onions, blueberries, and at one point, we tried growing raspberries but the bugs kept getting into them. So we just stuck with blueberries."  
Miles nodded, fiddling with his silverware.

"Did you sell them in bulk?"

"Actually," She explained. "A close family partner, Gideon, had started a pie company, and he loved our berries so much that he wanted to use them in his pies. So whenever he went out to take part in the county contest, his pie would always be made of blueberries."

Miles smiled in interest.

"Sounds delicious, i might sneak a few next time i visit bunnyburrow."

She giggled.

Their food was eventually served and they ate, continuously talking to each other about their interests, likes, dislikes, what their preferred music was, what their favorite pass time was, they really connected. But after they finished eating, Miles eventually rested his cheek on his palm, messing around with a spoon on the table. Judy felt like she needed to ask him about something personal.

"So, if it's too much to ask, you don't have to answer, but i have always wondered…"

He looked up in question.

"What would you do, if…"

He had a sinking feeling in his chest from the anticipation of what her question was. Was it gonna be a kiss? A relationship? Miles did not want to break his promise to Nick.

"...We found that cat you were talking about?"

He froze. He never really thought about what he would do if he actually got a chance to see her for once. He sighed, and answered with his cheek slurring his answer from his palm.

"I dunno. Maybe get to catch up for what's happened in the past couple of years…?"

Judy nodded. She had several different feelings and outlooks going on within her. On one hand, she really wanted to see what it was like to be in love with Miles; because of his self respect and tenacity, and his overall view on topics, like cross-species dating, or the effect on social norms. But on the other hand, she felt that if she did choose to try it out with Mies, Nick would no longer talk to her. Nick was the first to confess his feelings to her after all, and now that she is completely for cross-species relationships, it would be a very sleazy move to 'suddenly' have a change of heart. Especially for picking someone else over Nick; the one who was by her side and never backed down from a threat to her security. But on an overall perspective, she understood that he wasn't willing to try anything with _anyone,_ not until he could make things right with the cat he met online. She had all three of these things battle each other within herself, but the most she could do was try to comfort him and make him feel loved just a little bit more each day.

She reached for his paw on the table fiddling with the silverware, and layed her hand above it, looking into his eyes.

"Thank you." She said.


	17. Chapter 17

**AUTHORS NOTES**  
So i've been trying to have someone do a commission for a cover photo of this story, but nobody has been able to provide me with a reference drawing. i apologize for the lack of physical imagery. 

CHAPTER 17:

Nick snorted awake after hearing the alarm go off from his phone. He reached for it, sliding his hand back and forth on the computer tower he had gotten the other day, and finally found his phone. He switched off the alarm, sat up from his sleeping bag inside his van, and stretched yawning. It was 11:00, and his phone buzzed a second time after being snoozed. He recieved a message from Miles.

" _Hey, we need to meet up. I have to talk to you about something."_

Nick rubbed one eye while he texted back.

" _K, whn N whre?"_

Miles replied.

" _I'll swing by in a few and we can grab a bite."_

Nick shrugged as he climbed his way up, noticing Finnick passed out with a bottle of gin in his hands, opened. He slowly took the bottle from him as he loudly snored, and stored it into the mini fridge they had. He then crawled his way out of the van and into the alleyway they were parked at. Miles eventually walked around the corner after about ten minutes.

"Thought you were driving." Nick said.  
"Thought you were hungry." Miles replied, waiting for him to start walking.

They walked down the road in silence for about five minutes, until Nick spoke up.

"So what do you need to talk to me about?"

Miles looked at his phone, using it as a way to draw the memory out.

"It's about the timing we had. I think if i'm gonna get her to want you more, i need to be able to convince her."

Nick didn't understand.

"Convince her of what?"

"Of…" He froze. "How it's okay to date someone who isn't your breed."

Nick began to get a bit irritated.

"Why."

Miles swallowed out of fear of a misunderstanding.

"Because it would just make the scenario a whole lot easier to tolerate in the end, Nick. I know you're barely okay with me talking to her in such a way, but i've kept my promise, and i haven't talked about, _or done_ anything physical with her."

Nick sighed.

"I know. I just…"

Miles looked back at him.  
"I've wanted this for so long. To be able to care for her. Keep her safe. Love her. But i wasn't enough to do that. That's why i'm trusting you to convince her completely."

Miles nodded as he put his hands in his pockets.

"That's why i don't even want to think about pulling physical moves."

Nick got annoyed with that phrase he used, 'physical moves'.

"What the fuck does that even mean?"

Miles stopped and looked at Nick, who was in question.

"Stuff like kissing or sleeping with her. Keeps her on that borderline, you know?"

He kept walking. Nick shook his head as he followed.

"Where are we going to eat?" he asked.

"I don't know." Miles said. "Figured i'd expect you to point a place out. Hell, maybe we could just grab a few drinks and talk for a day."

Nick scoffed.

"I'm pretty sure you didn't just drag me out to some Junior Ranger Scout Bonfire so we could sing Kumbaya together, but then again, maybe you did."

Miles chuckled.

"Man, if i could just make you eat your words for a day, you'd be too full of yourself to be hungry."

They stopped at a local bar called "The stable"; a place notably themed for its usage of barley and oats. Several other mammals were there, from pigs, to sheep, to even rhino and lions. Miles and Nick sat up on the bar. The bartender, who was unironically a horse, asked them what they wanted with a fake southern accent.

"Two whisker shots please." Miles answered.

The horse nodded, and went to go get the preferred drink, and Nick was snickering to himself.

"What?" Miles asked.

Nick grinned as he tried to explain.

"It's taking all of my strength to not tell a horse joke right now."

Miles knew exactly what joke he was talking about. " _Why the long face."_ He rolled his eyes after coming to a realization, and turned back to the bar. The bartender then served them their drinks, and Nick looked at Miles.

"Never seen you drink before." He said. "This your first time with alcohol?"

Miles shook his head, remembering how strong whisker was.

"I've been told i'm something called a 'heavyweight'." He swished his glass around.

Nick nodded, and shrugged, taking a sizeable drink from his glass. He then began to cough within his chest, almost spitting as he recovered.

Miles started to chuckle.

"Guess you haven't tried this before. Here, maybe i'll spit up my drink next."

He slowly took a drink, and swallowed, showing his teeth as he winced.

"Oof, burns."

Nick smiled, giving the drink a second shot. This time, he was much slower, and downed the bitter drink with ease. Nick stuck his tongue out then spoke as he joked.

"Kinda stings like cinnamon."

Miles laughed. They bought two more drinks, and had another pair brought to them. Miles was slower with this second glass, but Nick chose to down the glass quickly again. He put the glass down, licking his lips and grinning.

"Hey," He chuckled. "It kinda numbs your nasal passages."

He sniffed, and Miles nodded.

"Yeah. Whisker will do that." He took another drink.

They had several more drinks for the night, with Judy checking up on both of them because Nick texted her, saying " _We ar fukkd upp!11"_ First, two glasses, then a half an hour passes, two more glasses. Two hours more, about six glasses between the two. It was now 7:30 in the afternoon, and eventually, Nick sat there giggling as he stacked the cups into a pyramid, then raised his hands in the air, slurring.

"I'm king uh this' castle here!" He cackled, and Miles couldn't help but laugh. Eventually, he gained a buzzing situation, and chose to stop drinking. But Nick was seriously out of it as he laughed, not caring about the world around him. He then sat up and spoke to Miles.

"I'ma go take uh whiz. Be back in a min'."

Miles nodded, looking at his phone.

"I'll be here."

Nick wandered his way into the bathroom, trying to keep a steady walk, but ended up running into the door. He caught himself, and walked into the first open stall, closing the door, and emptying himself. Nick noticed a small hole in the side wall of the stall, and made a small noise of disgust to himself. He finished, opened the door, and walked to the sink where a slightly bigger hyena was walking from. Nick bumped into his shoulder by accident.

"Watch where you're going." The hyena said

Nick rolled his eyes and scoffed, and the hyena heard.

"Ay, what'chu say?!" He yelled, spinning Nick around by his shoulder.

"I di'nt say anything." Nick slurred. "I scoffed." He giggled, and the hyena pushed his shoulder again.

"Hey, piss off, dude!" Nick yelled, walking to the door, but the hyena kicked him, forcing him out of the door. Nick fell to the ground, his head spinning.

"What'chu gonna do, fox?"

Nick didn't say anything, but rubbed his head. He was then picked up by his collar, and shook, while he tried to throw punches. Because he was so deep under the influence, he didn't do much damage. Several other animals either looked up, stood, or just stayed quiet. Nick was then pinned against the wall, holding the hyenas wrists.

"You ain't got nuthin' on me-"

Miles put his hand on his shoulder, and spoke in a serious tone.

"If a civilian is in danger by another, anyone is allowed to use physical means to stop the confrontation between the two."

Before the hyena could figure out what the hell Miles even meant, he swung an extremely hard right hook to his jaw, sending him flying and letting go of Nick, who fell to his hands and knees. The hyena was on his side, motionless, but breathing. Miles picked the hyena up and sat him in a chair, with the glasses Nick had stacked. He then held a hand out to Nick, and picked him up, carrying his arm over his shoulder.

"I think we need to leave. Thanks for the drinks, bartender."

The horse nodded, with the entire establishment being quiet after seeing what just happened.

Miles led Nick out of the bar with him staggering on his feet, his tail dragging on the ground behind him, and his ears back from the headache beginning to set in.

"I think you had a bit too much." Miles said. "My bad."

Nick laughed.

"You had th' same m-mount i did." He slurred. "Why aren't you all over th' place?"

He shrugged.

"Guess it just isn't my thing."

He closed his eyes, then began to retch on the sidewalk over Miles's shoulder, and he winced from the sight.

"Cripes man! You almost puked on me!"

Nick spat the stringy silver bile from his stomach and spoke.

"I feel so much better…"

Miles shook his head and kept walking him. Eventually noticing how much he drooped as he walked. He dozed off, with Miles having to wake him up every now and again. He got sick of it after the fourth time, and stopped for a moment.

"If you puke on me, you're buying me a new shirt."

Nick didn't know what was going on, but he found himself slung onto Miles back for a ride, carrying him.

"Don't choke me. Just wrap your arms on my collar bone and stay still. I'll carry you."

Nick nodded, locking his paws together at the top of Miles's chest. They walked through downtown Zootopia at a nice time; it was dark, and the advertisements for the city gave them light, with bright colors flashing and beaming everywhere. Nick was half-conscious as they walked, but he enjoyed the muffled noise and the bright colors beaming. He was conscious enough to ask a question.

"How come you only wanted to be our friends?"

Miles thought for a moment as he walked.

"I don't know. At first it was just because of Judy. Her friendliness kind of invited me. I saw that you two were friends, and my moral compass kicked in. So i figured it was the right thing to do."

Nick nodded.

"I hope i wasn't too much of a dick when you and her got close…"

Miles chuckled.

"Nah, you were just worried about losing Judy. I got it. That's why i wanted to make that deal with you. So you knew i had morals or something."

They were silent, and Nick spoke up again.

"Can i ask you a favor."

"Shoot."

Nick stayed silent for a moment, and answered.

"What are we… as friends…?"

Miles thought.

"I'm hoping as something close. Because if i'm willing to knock some cross-fit asshole out to keep you safe, i'm pretty sure that's a big signal."

Nick nodded.

"Can i maybe ask if we're bros?"

Miles grinned.

"As long as i don't end up having to drag you out of any issue you get stuck in. I think we can agree on that."

Nick smiled, then fell asleep, lying his chin on Miles right shoulder. Miles had walked with Nick on his back for about 15 minutes before finally reaching the parked van in the alley. The back door had been closed, but the lights inside were on. Finnick was seen on the side of the van, smoking a cigarette. He noticed Nick on his back and immediately jumped.

"Jeez, what the hell happened!"

Miles smiled.

"Shh. He passed out. We went for drinks and he ended up getting hit hard. He's fine, just make sure he's got water or something."

Finnick ran to the back door and opened it for him, and Miles lied him down onto the small air mattress he had on the edge of the van. Nick snorted as he was lied down, and left the van, waving to Finnick as he closed the door behind him.

"Bros…" Miles thought. "Only family i have left. You and Judy."

Finnick sat on a small seat in the van as Nick snored. He was watching the news channel in silence, picking at his teeth with a toothpick. He then looked over at Nick, who was out cold.

"Damn, man." He spoke quietly. "Guess you had too much. I'm even amazed i can take more than you."

Finnick chuckled, and grabbed his bottle from the mini fridge next to him, holding it in his hands, between his legs. He was thinking about what Nick had told him before he found out he made deliveries for Sv2.

"Sometimes siblins' split fo' the better." He said quietly. "Even i should know that."

He opened his 40 ounce and took a drink, closing the cap when he finished. He looked down at the floor as he kept thinking to himself, and the television caught his attention. The headline was the first thing to pop up.

"Local Sv2 busts continue to grow." Finnick said to himself.

He looked back at Nick, then noticed his uniform hanging behind him. He spoke quietly again.  
"I didn't do this just fo' the money, Nikki. I wanted to get you somethin' to help you out. A nice little place better n'd this."

He looked around the van, noticing how old it was getting.

"It was my way of payin' you back. For all the times we needed to make money. With me bein' a hustler an' you bein' a con artist, i figured we could take over th' world."

He chuckled as he looked back down.

"I'll tell you the truth. I promise." he said as he took another drink.


	18. Chapter 18

***AUTHORS NOTES***

What "Fanfiction" out there isn't complete without a suggestive theme? Enjoy.

CHAPTER 18:

Judy woke up at 9:30 this time because it was a weekend. Typically, Miles himself would be awake later, but he was still out like a light. Judy dressed herself up into her jogging gear, short-shorts, a tank top and her sweat bracelets. After getting completely dressed up, she set out for her path, while she held her cellphone. Her usual path was a simple one and a half mile jog, weaving through several buildings as she ran to her destination, which was the greenhorn; a juice bar in the middle of downtown Zootopia. She always took her time whenever she jogged, trying to make every step count for her wellbeing, and rewarding herself with a drink after the run. Construction took place on some roads, especially the road before Little Rodentia; where the van had crashed with Judy inside of it. She shuddered, and looked away, jogging to the juice bar down the road, she stopped, ordering a strawberry-banana mix.

Nick texted her.

" _We training 2day?"_

She sipped from her straw as she replied.

" _Mybe, i'll chk wth him whn i get hme."_

Nick read the message but didn't reply. Judy then shrugged and Jogged her way back to her home, stepping onto the porch and stretching before she walked in. She stepped through the door, and Miles was seen rubbing his face after waking up.

"Hey, good morning!" She smiled as she closed the door. "It's 10:30, cap. You alright?"

He nodded.

"I figured that if i didn't get affected as much as Nick did, i wouldn't have a headache."

She grinned.

"You have a hangover?"

"I guess." He rubbed his eyes with his paw.

She set her drink down and walked to the kitchen, grabbing ahold of a bottle of water and handing it to Miles.

"Thanks." He said, opening the cap of the bottle with his eyes closed.

"We training today?" She asked.

Miles drank half the bottle right on the spot.

"I don't know. I really want to, but i don't think my headache is gonna let me stay on top of my game."

Judy nodded.

"If you don't mind, you can stay home and recover. Nick and i will brush up and continue, maybe we can eventually take on each other," She smiled. "One on one."

Miles nodded, grinning at the idea.

"I like the sound of that. Can't wait, Jude."

She smiled and walked up to her room, changing into her gear. She phoned Nick at the same time as she dressed, and he answered slowly.

"Yup."

She slid her shirt on.

"We're training. Cap won't make it. He's got a major headache from the night before."

He slid his paw across the fur on his head.

"Alright, same place?"

"Yeah, i'll meet you there." Judy answered.

She was now dressed in her gear, and Miles was seen, lying back down onto the couch. Judy shook her head and grinned after closing the door.

Judy threw several kicks toward Nick as he was deflecting as many as he could. Sometimes they would land on his chest or shoulders, and other times he was able to have his forearms block the excessive force. Judy began to learn how to use her fists in a weaponless fight, and caught herself falling almost every time she would give an overswing. Nick's weakness was in his kicks, however. He couldn't use his feet to defend himself because of his tail being a reliable source of balance. So with being able to learn how to kick, he had to remember to swing his tail another way so that his balance would stay on point. Eventually; he would begin to understand how to shift his weight around as he swung his lower abdomen, and his kicks were flawless. Judy still had issues trying to punch though.

"Hey," Nick said, trying to comfort her. She was out of breath, and she had her eyes closed in frustration.

"Look, try clenching your fist last minute. You'll have more speed and control that way."

She nodded, stood back up, then held her hands up, not clenching them. She threw punches at nick, who was able to definitely feel the difference as she punched, and she got fast enough to the point to where Nick was blocking at the wrong time. She even swung so fast that Nick was socked riht in the nose, and he fell back, clenching the end of his snout.

"Oh my gosh!" Judy gasped. "Nick, i'm so, so sorry!"

Nick couldn't help but laugh. With his nose pinched, he spoke nasally to her.

"Jus' get be uh tisshew." He sat up, and Judy went from a frown, to a smile, and a small laugh.

They were now sitting across from each other, with Nick holding a red spotted tissue on his nose. Judy was eating celery and peanut butter, while Nick sipped on a drink from one of the concessions outside. Judy then drank from her smoothie and spoke.

"How long did we train?"

Nick shrugged, pulling the drying cloth from his nose.

"I don't know." He sniffed. "We got here at eleven, right?"

She slowly nodded, trying to think.

"Yeah... " She started to giggle. "We've been here for eight hours"

Nick smiled, standing up. He was shirtless after the end of training, and stretched.

"That explains why my back is so sore."

He flexed, just trying to get a reaction out of Judy, but she was looking down at her phone. Nick shrugged and walked over to his bag, pulling his phone out, and calling Miles. The phones ring could be heard, and Judy asked.

"What's going on?"

Nick shrugged.

"Just checking up on Cap, letting him know we're done with training."

He finally answered the phone.

"What's up Nick?"

"Hey, i just wanted to let you know that Jude and i are done with training, we'll be able to practice with you next time, right?"

"Yeah! I'll be sober for it, i promise."

Nick chuckled.

"Alright, Judy'll be home in a few-"

A guitar riff could be heard in the background of the call.  
"What was that?" Nick asked.

"Oh, it's me!" Miles laughed. "I had my guitar in the trunk of my car for the longest time and i forgot about it!"

Nick smiled.

"Alright man. You have a good night!"

"Wll do, you too bro!"

He hug up the phone, and Nick gave his grin when he called him that.

"Everything okay?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, he just got his guitar."

Judy coughed as she drank.

"What?"

"Yeah! He was playing it on the phone."

Judy nodded, and undressed herself, getting ready to leave. Nick noticed and looked away, but also wanted to stare. He chose to just slide his clothing off, but keep his back toward her, and throw his stuff into his bag. Judy then spoke.

"You got the door to the place?"

"Y-yeah. I'll close it up."

She slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked out the door. Nick quickly slung his bag as well, and closed the door behind both of them.

Around this time, the entire place ws empty because nobody liked to do yoga at night; it would be too dark to follow any instructions, along with how creepy it was at some points. Nick locked the building up and put the keys in his bag, and followed Judy.

The entire time he walked behind her, he couldn't help but stare at her tail. More than that, he stared at her rear end. The way she walked, along with her physical being and how fit she was, Nick kept thinking of a phrase.

" _Her ass is hypnotizing…"_

They still had a way to walk; the building they rented was nearly to the end of the enclosure, with was a little under a couple hundred meters. Nick couldn't stop staring though. His mindset was blurry, and he had thoughts of events that he would fantasize about with Judy.

And all in the middle of this, Nick's member grew without him noticing.

They weren't even halfway across the entire area and Nick was still attracted to her. His mouth hung halfway open, still thinking about all the dreams he would have with her in them. His member twitched and he felt it; snapping him out of the trance he was in and bringing him back to reality. He noticed himself and quickly took his bag off his shoulders, covering himself.

Judy heard him shuffle and looked back.

"You alright?" She asked, noticing the bag.

"Y-yeah!" He nervously chuckled, and faked looking through his backpack, just so she could look away.

They were now almost to the entrance and his erection still did not ease up. Nick began to get irritated with himself while he tried to stop how it felt; either pleasure or embarrassment.

Judy held the door for Nick as he walked through, while frantically saying something to himself over and over again.

" _She's gonna see it! She's gonna see it!"_

Nick slowly walked, waiting for Judy to walk ahead so her back would be toward him. She did walk ahead, and Nick quickly reached for his bag, his member rock-hard as well, trying to find his pants.

Judy put her bag down to look for her items and just glanced at Nick for a moment, noticing his dilemma. She blushed, and stayed quiet, but she also really wanting to say something. Nick did not notice her turn her head while he dressed, and was quick enough to tuck himself underneath his belt. He the put his shirt on, and dressed faster than Judy. Once she finally put her shirt on, she noticed Nick was already finished, and commented.

"I thought i was fast at getting ready."

She giggled, and Nick gave a quirky smile out of focusing on his own issue, now trying to distract himself with his phone.

"Ready?" Judy said, grabbing her things and leaving the building.

Nick quickly followed along, and eventually felt his hard-on slowly die down. They walked along the street for awhile, admiring the lights again, noticing all the bright advertisements and street lamps. Judy remembered something Nick had said.

"So you said that you heard guitar through your call with Miles, right?"

He looked at the ground with his hands in his pockets.

"Uh, yeah! Why?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know. I remembered he had his in the back of his car and i figured he just had it to own. I never knew he played it."

Nick nodded, smiling.

"Well, he sounded like he knew what he was doing. It wasn't metal riffs or anything, kind of like claw-picking actually."

"Claw picking?" Judy asked.

"Yeah," Nick explained. "I barely understand it myself. But it's where you try your best to have one finger pluck one string on its own. Imagine playing piano."

She nodded in wonder.

"Guess you guys are close too."

"What?" Nick asked in confusion.

Judy heard their entire conversation with her sensitive hearing. She didn't want to tell Nick that she hears "everything", but she was happy to hear them call each other a brother.

"You just sounded happy to talk. That's all."

They walked in silence, and the road to Nick's van came up, where they had to walk separate ways.

"Well, i gotta get going. I'll see you at work, Jude."

Judy waved and stayed quiet, but thought for a moment, and stopped him before he walked a few feet away.

"Hey, Nick…?"

He stopped and looked back in question.

"Yeah?"

She quickly walked up, and chose to tell Nick the truth.

"You…"

She froze, and Nick spoke again.

"What's up?" he asked once more.

She just chose to let it out.

"I didn't know that, a foxes knot could be so big…"

His color drained to his feet, and his ears went back in embarrassment.

Judy couldn't help but laugh after seeing his reaction, and turned around waving, saying "Bye Nikki!"

He just stood there, holding his face, wishing he never looked in the first place.

Judy walked up onto her porch and stopped for a moment, hearing for anything inside. She did hear notes being played, but they were really quiet and relaxing. She waited until whatever note was being played stopped, and walked through the door.

"Hey, Judy." Miles said, cradling his guitar in his lap.

"Hi, Cap." She closed the door behind her, and dropped her bag next to the gun case.

"This from the car?" She asked

"Yeah." He played a slow riff. "Haven't touched this thing in a while, so i figured i might as well give it a shot."

He played another small tune, and Judy sat down next to him, enjoying the clean, bluesy genre of tone he had. The multiple riffs and licks he had in store sounded ameture at first, but the more he played, the more he had remembered to his advanced skill from before. Judy felt mesmerized by Miles' flexibility as he played. The small amplifier producing the sound was not even an issue, because he was able to play his notes quietly, but keep his noted loud and efficient. Judy yawned at one point and Miles noticed.

"I didn't mean to make you listen." He chuckled. "I can stop playing if you're bored."

Judy shook her head, trying to stay awake.

"N-no, i love it! I'm just a little worn out…"

She yawned again, and Miles smiled, continuing to play. This time, much more softer and quieter. His paw slowly picked each string as he slid the other along the neck of the guitar, subtle notes resonating through the air as he played. His energy wasn't low, he was just really mellow. Judy yawned again, and leaned back onto the couch, lying her head onto the cushion behind her. Her eyelids slowly lowered as the tone became muffled, her conscious state beginning to fly back and forth as she tried to stay awake. But she couldn't help it, so she had fallen asleep to the deeper tones of what was being played by Miles.

Miles looked at her as he played, and grinned at the sight of her sleeping; curled up, her head on her arms, soundly asleep. He played the last few bars of the song that he was playing, softer, quieter, and eventually turned the guitar down, shut off the amplifier, and walked upstairs to Judy's room, grabbing her blanket, and covering her with it after coming back downstairs. He then sat on the far end of the couch, crossed his arms, and fell asleep.

Nick was in his van, learning more about the PC he was able to get his hands onto. Finnick was out somewhere, so he chose to snoop around and look for the user name that Miles gave him. "Catato63" was the only info he had, so it wasn't easy finding the _exact_ cat he mentioned. One lived out of the state of Zootopia, one was passed away at 53, and one was near the same age as Miles. Going with the process of elimination, he chose to gain more information of the one who was near the same age. The negative issue was that he couldn't find her exact location, so he just chose to message her anonymously instead of tracking her location, and possibly confronting her. He found her phone number eventually with multiple tools used to track personal info, and sent a message to her on the phone.

" _Heyy, i have some serious info 4 u. I need 2 no if ur this cat."_

About a half an hour passed as he continued searching for other clues, along with doing research for the ZPD, and the phone went off.

" _Who wnts 2 no"_

Nick thought carefully about how to keep her biting onto the bait, and texted an answer.

" _A friend of a Friend. More or less an online buddy. Please, its urgent."_

This time, the text was read was much quicker, and then the number began calling the phone. It vibrated in Nick's hand as he debated whether or not to ignore it.

He chose to answer it reluctantly, but before he could say "Hello?", a distorted voice came through the phone.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Nick just chose to talk through it.

"Easy cat. I'm friendly. I just need to know something."

She stayed silent, then answered through the voice modifier again.

"What."

"I'm just trying to help a friend out. And i'm looking for someone. Does the username, 'Catato63' ring a bell?"

The voice stayed silent, and spoke again.

"That's me. Now tell me who you are."

"Just call me Wilde."

The voice modifier died down and her real voice could be heard.

"Carrie. Why did you look for me." She asked.

"I just need to know a few things, because i want to help a friend."

She spoke with intensity.

"What friend."

"Miles." He spoke.

More silence came from her end, and he asked once again.  
"I had the materials to find your number, and i just want to ask."

She sighed then made a noise as if she was taking a seat.

"Alright. Ask away."

"Did you get to know who Miles really was?" Nick asked.

"Yes." She said.

"Did you get to meet him?"

"No. We were online when we met."

Nick thought of what to ask next, and an idea came up.

"Do you want to meet him."

"What?" She was confused.

"Do you want to see him in person." He asked in a solemn tone.

She hesitantly answered.

"I, i-i don't know… How long do i have to think?"

Nick remembered that this was the last day for Miles to throw Judy's attention toward him.

"48 hours."  
She stayed silent, then answered.

"Okay."

She hung up the phone, and Nick slowly put the cell down. He leaned back in his chair, and let out a big breath of air. Nick then returned to the computer, trying to find more leads on "Sv2".

***AUTHORS THOUGHTS***

So, i've been trying to get my hands on some concept art for the story as i write, but anybody that i ask hasn't replied to me for more than a month... I understand that some art can easily take a long time to create, but that's the issue when i request it; i don't ask for color, i don't ask for little details, i just want a rough sketch of what they think the characters or the setting looks like to them, and i am more than willing to credit for them. Anyway, if you want to help me out with this favor, feel free to email me, or message me on twitter.

Nightmarze6.66  
MilesFeral6 (Twitter)


	19. Chapter 19

***AUTHORS NOTES***  
Lost track of time, family, Thxgiving, etc. Enjoy.***

CHAPTER 19:

Miles woke up with his hands across his stomach, and with Judy lying her head on his thigh. She was still covered by the blanket, but she seemed closer than before the last time Miles saw where she was. He stretched slowly, but Judy still woke from the feeling of his leg moving. She lifted her head up, yawned, and opened her eyes, realising where she was. She gasped as she sat up.

"Sorry! I just got really tired, and, and-"

Miles laughed.

"It's alright, Jude! I figured you were really tired from training all day, so i grabbed your blanket and left you to sleep."

She looked at her blanket and realised it was her own.

"If i wasn't supposed to go into your room, i'm sorry."

"No, you're okay!" She nodded. "I was sure i went to bed, guess it was false memory…"

She rubbed her eyes, and Miles slowly stood up looking through his backpack. He pulled out his deodorant, and noticed the conditioner next to it.

"Could i use your shower?"

Judy nodded while yawning.

He grabbed both items and walked up the steps, slowly turning to the bathroom. The memory of Judy retching from weeks ago flashed in his mind, and he shook his head, closing the door behind him. Miles then walked into the shower itself, fully clothed, and stood for a moment, noticing how short the showerhead itself was. It was about chest level with him, and he just chose to shrug it off and shower anyway.

Miles came back down with his own towel, wearing longer boxer briefs and carrying his pants and shirt with him. Judy was in the kitchen, suited up in her uniform.

"Bogo call?"

"Yeah," She answered, scrolling through here phone and drinking orange juice. "He said Nick and i need to come into work today."

Miles was confused.

"No call in for me?"  
She nodded in understanding.

"I know, i was weirded out by that too. Oh well, he said he'll need all three of us tomorrow anyway."

Miles nodded, then went to his bag to slide a clean shirt on.

"Eh, i have to do laundry anyway, i might just go to the one in town."

"But i've got a set here?" Judy said, asking.

"I know, but i just want to explore Zootopia while i'm out, you know?"

She nodded, walking to the living room.

"Alright, Cap, i'll text you when we're done with our shift."

She left through the door, and Miles waved goodbye.

Judy walked to the station like Nick, but Nick was already talking to Clawhauser by the time she had gotten there.

"Hiya, Judy!" Benjamin said happily. Nick waved with a grin.

"Hi guys! So, why didn't Captain get called in?"

Benjamin rolled his chair over to the computer, and read the email he received from chief Bogo.

"Uhh, i need Hopps and Wilde at the station today, Captain Feral will not be needed for this meeting." Benjamin shrugged. "Huh, guess it's something for your eyes only."

Benjamin smiled, and Nick and Judy looked at eachother for a moment.

"Does he need us at his office?"

"Yes," Benjamin dragged out, reading. "He's expecting both of you."  
They walked to his office slowly, thinking of what to expect.  
"Did we do something wrong in the past few days?" Judy asked.  
"I don't think so," Nick answered, "It's probably about the bust about three days ago."

They knocked on his door this time, and a loud, "Come in." boomed through it. Nick opened the door, and it showed Chief bogo sitting behind his desk like usual.

"Ah, it's you two. Please, have a seat."

Nick and Judy did as they were told. Judy spoke up.

"How come Miles isn't here?"

He was paying attention to his laptop as he spoke.

"I just need some clarification from you two on how he's doing. This is a six week report, and i need to know how he's doing as a deployed officer.

"He's been doing fine, Chief." Nick answered. "A couple of scuff ups with personal issues, but that was off duty."

"Was he trying to harm you intentionally?" Bogo asked.

"N-no." Judy spoke. "That was a personal issue we provoked him about. We were trying to get to know him, and-"

"That's enough." Bogo answered.

They both stayed quiet. Bogo spoke again.

"Any unlawful actions? Firearm discharges? Brutalities?"  
"Sir, this seems a bit extreme to-"

"Answer my question." Bogo spiked.

"No." Nick said with a growl.

They were beginning to have an irritated connection with Bogo, and he asked one final question.

"What is his address?"

Nick looked at Judy this time, who froze in surprise. She didn't know if he would be marked down, or talked to for not affording his own place, so she stayed silent.

"Well? Do either of you know?"

Judy chose to answer.

"Uh, well… He lives with me sir…"

Bogo stared for a moment, and Judy thought he was going to be marked down for some random reason. But in reality, Chief had a different thought in mind.

"Are you two partners?"

Judy blushed, and Nick tried not to laugh.

"Uh, partners, as in work buddies?"

She laughed nervously, but Bogo asked another question.

"Are you in a relationship with him, Judy?"

She slowly answered again.

"No, sir."

Nick shook his head in sympathy for Judy's weird questioning.  
"Chief why does that matter?"  
"Because it's wrong, Nick."

Judy felt her stomach tighten from the phrase. Nick noticed, and didn't want to risk having Judy get hurt and set back to stage one, where she was just opening her eyes to what love really could be.

"What law says that, chief."

Judy's eyes lit up, and Bogo glared at him.

"Well, no law. It's just morally incorrect is all."

Nick then crossed his arms.

"Well why do you assume that it's wrong if it's just dependant on people's opinions?"

"Gee, i don't know Nick." Bogo snapped, "Why don't you ask almost every same-species couple out there?!"

"Because you can still love someone without having to please them!"

Judy was now shooting attention back and forth between the two. Bogo slammed his hooves onto the desk, and stood up, becoming more aggressive.

"Oh, sure! Because i can see a fucking meerkat go out with an elephant no problem!"

"It's not like that, Chief!"

They were both standing in defense, and now Judy answered between them arguing.

"Both of you stop!"

They looked at her.

"Chief i have no reason to date a different species because i'm too scared of being looked down upon by people like you! So please understand that i have _no_ intentions with Miles or anyone else, aside from another bunny!"

Bogo crossed his arms, then looked at his computer.

"You two are excused. Go."

They didn't hesitate to leave. They stood from their seats, looked away, and walked out the door without saying another word. Nick spoke to her as he walked.

"Judy, i'm so sorry about that. I wish i could have said more-"

"It's fine Nick." She cut him off. "Just chill out."

Nick was terrified for her view on it again. He felt selfish for only wanting her to believe that, but he also wanted Judy to be happy with what she saw. Judy on the other hand was set on proving that love _is_ love no matter what. She just wouldn't be able to handle being assaulted for it constantly.

"I think i'm gonna head home, alright?" She said trying to forget her mood.

"Oh, okay…" Nick said worried.

She waved before turning to walk, but Nick called her name.

"Carrots?"  
"Yeah?"

They looked at each other, and Nick spoke.

"I'm always here, if you need me…"

She nodded, then walked back to him, hugging him close. Nick smiled, but knew she was in a very dark mood from what Bogo said. Judy looked up at him from their hug.

"Thank you, Nikki."

He smiled, and they walked away to their own places.

Nick crawled into the back of the van like before, and sat down in front of his desktop to find more leads. For the next hour, he searched, and only found dealers who live within city limits, but no source.

Finnick opened the door then, and stared at Nick.

"Hey Finn, what's-"

Finnick walked into the back of the van, and picked Nick up by his collar, and dragged him out of the van, around the side, and to the passenger door. Nick sweared and cursed at what Finnick was doing, and had n clue what was going on.

"Finnick, what the hell?-"

"Get in the seat." He said, slamming the back doors shut. Nick stood up and brushed himself off, then climbed into the seat, closing the door next to him. Finnick then stepped into driver side and slammed his door, starting the van up.

"Where are we going?" Nick asked.

"Jus' shut th' fuck up." Finnick growled.

He drove Nick through a long path around zootopia, through tundra town, the rainforest district, and eventually leading to the border between downtown Zootopia and Sahara square. On the edge was a large bank of water, leading to any major rivers or water reservoirs leading in, out and through Zootopia itself. Finnick slowly pulled the vehicle up, stopped, and left his seat, smoking a cigarette as he stood in front of the van. Nick slowly left the seat, and stood next to Finnick as he stared at the edge of the water reservoir.

"So, what?" Nick asked. "You drive me all the way out here to kill me?"

He sucked a deep breath from his cigarette and blew it out slowly.

"It ain't like that, Nikki."

"Then what the fuck was this for?! Cripes, i thought you were gonna fucken kidnap me and take me to another building!"

Finnick stared at i'm with narrow eyes, blew another puff of smoke out, and pointed his cigarette out to the waterbank.

"See that out there?" He said, exhailing.

Nick looked to the other side of the large body of water, and noticed a medium sized cargo ship, parked right next to a large hangar.

"A big boat, so what?" Nick was still angry with Finnick for dragging him around like this, and Finnick rolled his eyes, taking another drag of his cigarette.

"That's th' main one. Th' 'two buildin's' holding the new drug?"

Nick eased up on his tension, and his eyes widened. He stared in shock, now noticing how many cargo crates were on the ship parked outside of the closed up hangar. Finnick started to talk.

"Th' place was a plane hangar an first, but someone bought it, tore it down, n' then closed th' place up with walls n' windows."

Nick looked back at him, and Finnick was now sitting on the van's bumper, staring into the water, with a low and upset look on his face.

"I never went into it fo' the money, man." He inhaled the last amount, and threw the filter over the edge. "I only wanted to get you back for giving me a chance. Ever since you gave me a place to stay, i didn't know what would happen next. Figured if a hustler like me, an' a con-artist like you worked together..."

He fumbed with his shirt pocket to find another cigarette, and Nick answered for him.

"We could've taken over the world."

Finnick looked back at Nick, who was now smiling, knowing his answer. He smiled back, and continued talking.

"I was thinkin' about you, man. That's why i wanted to bring you out here. To show you that i was willin' to lose my job to help you out."

Nick walked up to Finnick, and held his hand out. Finnick grabbed his hand and pulled him in for a hug.

"Thank you Finn. This means a lot to me."

Finnick nodded, and patted his back, releasing from the hug.

"I'ma drive you back. Let's get you to Jude. Let her know 'bout what's goin' on."

Nick nodded, and pulled his phone out. Finnick got back into the van with Nick following, and they drove away as he phoned Judy.

"Ay, Nikki."

"Hm?" He asked.

"Don't tell em i found the place."

He nodded as he answered Judy.

"Hey, carrots! Listen, i found the second supplier! We need to grab our gear and let Chief know now!"  
"Oh, alright!" Judy answered in confirmation. "How'd you find it?"

He looked at Finnick as he drove, looking out the window.

"Found a lead on a website. I'll meet up with you tomorrow. Be ready at 10."

"Alright. I'll let Cap know as well!"

Nick ended the call and leaned back, looking at the time.  
"Sleep in the cab if you want, Nick." Finn said. "You're gonna need a better cushion the the floor of a van."

He nodded, and leaned back in his seat, falling asleep.

***AUTHORS THOUGHTS***

I'm glad i was able to upload this. Again, if anybody was able to find a artist please contact me.***


	20. Chapter 20

****AUTHORS NOTES****

 _"For he who makes a beast out of himself, get's rid of the pain of being a_ _man_ _."_ ~Dr. Samuel L. Johnson. 

CHAPTER 20:

They woke up at 8:30 in the morning to get ready for the plan they needed to unravel to Chief Bogo. Judy drove Nick to the station, with Miles going out to the nearest firearm store, purchasing an abundance of rifles of different calibers for the other officers. Judy and Nick sprinted into the building, as fast as they could, and knocked on Chief's door loudly, calling for him.

"Chief!" Judy called out loud, "We have info on where the second supplier is!"

They waited for a reply, but Nick felt a tap on his shoulder from behind.

"Excuse me, Wilde." Chief Bogo said as he inserted a key into his door.

"Chief!" Judy said. "We need to talk to you, it's important!"

Bogo nodded.  
"I'm all ears Lieutenant." He said, opening the door for them.

Nick quickly led Judy into the room, and Bogo shut the door behind him, and walked to his desk.

"What info do you now have?"

"The second building, sir!" Nick exclaimed. "We know where the final building is but we need to move fast otherwise we'll be too late!"

Bogo's eyes actually had lit up from this piece of news coming from Nick and Judy. HE was worried about their entire squadron however.

"Well where is your Captain? Why isn't he here?"

"He went to go purchase more weapons, sir." Judy answered. "We're going to need a _lot_ of units for this movement, and an I.E.D."

Bogo almost broke out in laughter.

"Wh-what?! An explosive? Wilde, we only _disarm_ explosives! There's no way we can just use them on the job!"

"We are a separate squadron now, sir." Nick perked. "If you wish for ust to take on more heated situations, then you need to supply us with the necessary needs."

Bogo sighed, understanding what needed to be done.

"Alright. We'll have a small device in your cruiser waiting in a back pack."

Bogo then covered his snout and mouth in concern. Realising how intense this sounded, with the knowledge, the urgency, and with the hardware coming to them eventually, he needed to confirm that this was liable information.

"How do you know this is the only production plant?"

Nick answered with confidence.

"I've hacked several users phones to find out, sir."

Bogo glared at him, knowing that abuse of power toward civilians is a referral. Nick continued to explain why though.

"I was trying to find a lead on the last guy who tried to stop us, and he dropped this."

He pulled out the cellphone the crook dropped at the condemned building. Bogo took it from him, noticing how the interface looked like nothing he has ever seen in his entire life.

"I traced one of the contacts on that phone, and asked him if i could make a delivery, trying to convince him that i worked with him."

Bogo looked back at Nick.

"But then he explained that there was only one other building producing a mass-shipment."

He dropped the phone, now alarmed.

"Mass shipment? Where to?"

NIck didn't know.

"I'm not sure, but there is only one way out of the Zootopia state river, and the other way is through town. But the boat is parked in the opposite direction, so-"

"That boat is gonna crash right into downtown Zootopia!" Bogo yelled, grabbing his receiver from his chest.

"All available units, follow me and Officer Hopp's cruiser, we have to stop a major outbreak of Sv2!"

Nick and Judy began exiting, with Chief quickly following them through the hallway, and out into the parking lot. Bogo then asked them a question.

"Where's Feral?"

A loud screech could be heard down the road, and Miles's sports car could be seen swerving around the corner, and drifting into the parking lot. Miles then stopped the vehicle horizontally into two parking spots, and jumped out of his car, throwing his trunk open, looking at Chief Bogo.

"Got all the Rifles you need, chief!" He said, pulling out a weapon much too big for him, but perfect size for Bogo. He walked to him with the gun in his arms. Bogo picked it up, loading a magazine into the chamber, and waved down other officers driving to the station. With officers from different sizes grabbing weapons from his vehicle, Nick, Judy, and Miles all stepped into their cruiser, waiting for the seven other patrol cars to follow them. Judy asked Nick where it took place.

"Edge of sahara square! On the water bank leading into Downtown!"  
Judy sped down the streets with her sire and lights blaring, and Miles sitting in the back, holding all three of their weapons. Before he left the house however, he grabbed something for good luck; the bracelet that he had gotten from Nick and Judy when he left from the hospital. He sat behind Nick and Judy, fiddling with the bracelet, adding something onto it. Judy noticed as she looked into the rear-view mirror.

"You gonna be fine, Cap?"

He jumped as he looked up, nodding.

The sahara square waterbank could be seen as they drove on the highway, and Judy's phone rang in her pocket.

"Damn, Nick, can you get that?"

He paused, looking at her. Judy looked back, and smirked, rolling her eyes.

"Don't worry ya dumb fox, you aren't gonna grab anything wrong."

Nick shook his head, pulling the vibrating phone out of her pocket, and revealing that it was Stu and Bonnie calling. Nick held the phone in front of all three of them as they drove, and Bonnie and Stu could be seen looking into the camera, with a worried look on their face.

"J-Jude?" Stu asked, a look of hope and fear on his face.

"Hello Mrs. Hopps!" Nick said. Miles waived, but Judy didn't say anything because she was concentrating on the road.

"Hey guys!" She finally said as she noticed.

"Thank goodness you aren't in the middle of anything right now!" Bonnie said happily, then a sense of sadness in her next sentence. "We wanted to tell you 'good luck' and 'Be careful' before you went on…"

"To make the world a better place!" Stu finished, trying to keep a happy tone.

Judy smiled, looking at the camera, and smiling.

"Aww, thanks guys!" She was happy, but she was also worried for how their mental state was going to be.

"It means alot to me that you would call me in the middle of all of this!"

She faked a smile, and they both began to look sad and worried.

"Can you two promise us something?" Stu asked, with Bonnie holding his hands.

"Of course, sir." Miles answered. "Nick and i will do whatever it takes to keep her safe."

He smiled and nodded, and Bonnie could be seen wiping small tears away.

"Please do!" She then broke out, crying into Stu's shoulder.

Judy then frowned, now upset at herself for even telling them in the first place.

"I'll be okay, i promise!" She said, and they nodded, saying their goodbyes. Judy took her phone back, and had a down look on her face. Nick noticed and rubbed her shoulder.

"They'll be happy to see you in one piece. We'll make sure of it."

She looked at Nick and smiled.

The sands began to shift and rise as Judy looked for the building around the large body of water.

"The cargo ship, over there. Do you see it?" Nick asked.

She nodded, admiring how many cargo crates were on the ship.

"All units, we are entering the building the moment we stop the vehicle, be advised, we are entering once we exit the vehicle."

"The device is in the trunk, Hopps." Bogo said over the scanner.

Several units then answered back, and Miles held his bracelet for a moment, then proceeded to stuff it into the inside of his vest pocket, sealing it tightly with velcro. Judy drove off of the road, onto the sand, and arriving closer and closer to the first door they saw on the decommissioned hangar. Miles then handed Nick his weapon, then strapped his own over his shoulder. Judy slammed on the break, sliding through the half sand and concrete, and all three jumped out of the vehicle, with Miles throwing Judy her SMG, and sprinting to the trunk, grabbing a small backpack, and running with the other two. Nick threw his foot at the handle of the door, and broke the lock with ease. Judy entered, screaming as loud as she could.

"ZPD! PUT YOUR HANDS UP!" But they were met with loud yelling, and several footsteps across the large room. There was a catwalk with several workers running across, back and forth, screaming at each other "Bail! Bail!". The three quickly began moving deeper into the facility full of large crates covered in plastic wrapping, presumably more Sv2. Some thugs began shooting rifles off of the catwalk, down into the product, at Nick and Judy, but they took cover in time behind more boxes and crates. Gunfire from several corners rained down onto all three, but Miles had enough, blind firing around a corner to draw attention.

"Go! Go!" He screamed at the others.

They scampered to another cover spot, and Miles loaded another magazine into the rifle with speed not even he could recognize.

Nick began firing his MG at other animals up on the catwalk, eventually hitting two of them with a burst of rounds. Their screams could be heard as they fell over the railing and down onto the concrete below. Miles began to cringe from this. Judy also covered herself and Nick, with bursts of fire toward a group of hostiles sprinting towards them. She was able to take down four, but two were only wounded.

"Move, move!" Nick yelled as he began to back up into a room with Judy behind him. They found a stairwell, leading up to the catwalk where other enemies were, firing down at Miles. Nick aimed his weapon, and proceeded to fire a minimum of three shots per target, successfully hitting four targets. Judy noticed that they would be very open targets if they ran to the next area on the catwalk.

"That's the only way to the next room! But were wide open if we try!"

Nick noticed, then kicked the door open, firing more rounds to gain attention.

"I'm drawing their fire!" He yelled, as he loaded another magazine into the receiver, firing more rounds at pockets of enemies. Miles was covering himself with his rifle, trying to push his way on ground level. He noticed what kind of struggle he was going through, and yelled at Judy again.

"Run! I'll get their attention, go!"

Judy sprinted as fast as she could with her SMG, dodging several bullets before diving into the doorway. Nick then jumped down from the railing onto a container, and fired more rounds into supply crates covering enemies. He then met up with Miles as he fired and took down other target.

"Come on!" Miles called out, "We need to keep pushing!"

Nick nodded, covering their back as he pushed forward. Eventually, a voice could be heard over a loud intercom.

"I figured this day would come."

The voice was female.

"I'm guessing your fears didn't stop you from achieving what you wanted, huh?"

Nick had no clue what the intercom was talking about, but Miles began to get angry with its mentionings of these scenarios. They continued to push to the back door of the first floor, into the second room, where more workers shot back with even more weapons.

"It must be tough, running from what you once cared about." The voice said again.  
Nick shot back at hostiles, but began to get confused with these cryptic meanings the voice had to say.

"What the hell is she talking about, Miles?!"

He shot back in anger, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"I don't know!"

He unloaded an entire magazine to a thin wall, hearing several bodies fall.

They pushed farther, noticing Judy fighting someone on the loft above them with a knife. She threw extensive kick and hooks as the enemy hacked and slashed with their knife. But Judy found the dead-spot on their wrist, and kicked her opponent in the face, proceeding to kick him in the back of the head to knock him out. She then picked her weapon up, and gave a thumbs up to Nick before moving into what looked like the control room of the entire facility.

"Tough." Nick called out before firing over Miles' head in cover fire.

Screams were heard after shots were fired, which led to a slow wave of fatigue washing over Nick. He hated the idea of death, but in a situation where it was his life or somebody trying to kill him, he wasn't willing to give his up. Eventually, they were able to walk to a set of stairs, that led to the same catwalk Judy walked on to enter the control room. Nick stacked up onto the wall with Miles, and held his shoulder before entering.

"Ready?"

He nodded.

Miles proceeded to ram the door open with the but of his gun, but found himself in a close quarters lock with somebody grabbing ahold of his rifle. Nick almost aimed his weapon on time, but the barrel was knocked down and out of his hands immediately by another enemy, now attacking him with claws. Now the two had to fight in hand to hand, which was not a good subject for Nick. He threw punches to the enemy's chest, but felt a steel plate underneath his overalls. He winced in pain, but then growled in anger as he grabbed him by the waist, spun him around, and pushed him against the railing outside the door, then punching him in the jaw, lifting him over the railing to have him fall to his doom.

His attitude soon changed however when he saw Miles on top of the other hostile, begging and pleading to stop in pain, but Miles continued to attack, and eventually, a rip, and snap was heard, with the enemy going limp. Miles slowly sat up, and looked back, with red stains across his mouth and neck.

Nick was too afraid to say anything. But Miles got up, and pulled his pistol out, continuing ahead. Nick grabbed his MG, loading another magazine as he admired how the throat of the other enemy was gone.

Miles walked with the pistol in his right hand, Nick covering him from behind, down a hallway with a door ahead. Once more, the intercom spoke again.

"Please. Put your gun down. Let's talk this out. I would if i were you."

Miles kicked the door down, and pointed his pistol ahead at the figure holding a needle gun at Judy's head as she was on her knees. Nick almost ran ahead to save Judy, but was stopped by Miles's left arm. Judy wasn't Miles's priority however. The female fox holding the needle gun was. She wore a gray suit, along with a pair of glasses to give her a disguise. He stood there, keeping his gun steady at her head.

"Good to see you, Miles." She said.

Miles got even angrier at the sight.

"Mom."

Nick's eyes widened. Judy gasped, and Miles shut his safety off.

"Ah ah ah! Down boy, or she gets it."

She rammed the barrel of the needle gun into her head.

Miles threw the gun in anger away.

"You can't win. We have several units on their way to this facility as we speak."  
She scoffed.

"Oh that's fine, they can have the warehouse all to themselves. This isn't my priority."

Miles had become so enraged that his blood began to boil. He could feel his tail almost break like before. It began to flow behind him slowly, and his mother noticed.

"Aww, what happened to your tail?"

"Fuck you!" He roared. "Let her go!"

Nick stiffened his position, ready to spring.

"Well, i was only asking because i'm holding this in mine…"

She pulled an ax from the coil of her tail, holding it still.

"What are you going to do to her." Nick growled.

She grinned, setting it on the ground against her hip.

"Oh this isn't for her, silly! It's for that."

She pulled a remote from her pocket, and pushed a button, with a loading dock opening behind her. The large cargo-boat was revealed, and she dropped the remote, now dragging Judy with her.

"This city is mine. Raccoon City was ran to shit ever since you tried busting us, so this is my next gold mine!"

Miles growled in fury as she picked up the ax, and cut the ropes holding the boat still.

"Stop!" Nick yelled, as he sprinted to her. She cut the second to last rope, while jamming the barrel of the needle gun as far as she could into Judy, but she pushed her wrist away from her head, forcing her to pull the trigger. A high speed needle containing the crimson purple substance shot ahead, toward Nick, but he ducked in time.

However, Miles wasn't fast enough.

Nick pulled his sidearm out, and pointed it at her, and she cut the final rope halfway. She fell to the ground in a pool of blood, and Judy scampered away. Nick crawled to her, ensuring her safety. But he was worried about Miles.

"No!" She yelled.

They both ran to Miles, who was shot directly in the collar bone, just barely missing the body armor. Judy held his head from behind, while Nick tore his armor off and shirt. Miles forced him so stop, and started to speak as the two talked to him, telling him he was going to be okay.

"G-guys…" He winced heavily. It wasn't the pain that hurt him, it was the transformation taking place.

"Listen… I need you to go without me!"

"We ain't gonna leave you cap'!" Nick yelled.

Miles looked up into Judy's eyes, who began to cry at the sight of Miles in this state. He looked back at Nick, who was still holding his hand and arm.

"S-so much f-for three days…" He tried to laugh. Nick knew what he meant too. The message he promised to him to help with Judy.

"Three days?" Judy asked, now sobbing.

Miles looked back up at her, and held her arm with a strained hand.

"I was gonna f-find a way t-to show you how m-much Nick m-means to you…"

He began to shake. Judy looked up at Nick, who kept his focus on Miles's state.

"That's why he was asking you those questions that day, Carrots…" Nick said, his voice breaking.

She looked back down at Miles, who was closing his eyes, with his teeth gritting.

"He l-loves you m-more than a-anything. M-more than i ever w-will…" He started to shake violently, and roared with pain in his soul.

"Please!" He begged her. "If i don't make it, Promise me you'll try!" He was now speaking in heavy strains of breath. All Judy could say was "Okay" over and over again, tearing up, swearing she would do everything she could to love the one who was there for her first.

"G-go! Stop that ship!"

Judy nodded, wiping her tears away and taking Miles's bag, carrying the I.E.D. They then both stood together, in front of Miles, who was beginning to succumb to the serum.

"Go!" He screamed, before letting out a terrifying roar not even a fox was capable of making.

*****AUTHORS THOUGHTS***

This is the second to last chapter. If you have enjoyed the story so far, please leave a review. Thank you.


	21. Chapter 21

****AUTHOR'S NOTES***

I have a quote for you to think about as you read this chapter.

 _"For he who makes a beast out of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a (Man)."_ **Dr. Samuel L. Johnson**

Enjoy this chapter Finale.

CHAPTER 21:

They attempted to climb onto the ship by the rope holding it in place. With it cut halfway, they needed to climb as fast as they could before the weight of the ship snapped it. But about more than halfway up, Nick climbed behind Judy, looking back and noticing the rope give its last strain, and snapping.

"Hold on, Carrots!" He yelled, as they flew into the side of the ship. Judy stayed in place, focusing on how close they were to the edge of the ship, while Nick noticed the gap between the port and the ship got bigger, and bigger.

"Uh, Judy?"

"Yeah?"

"We're moving!"

They climbed faster on the rope to the edge of the boat, where Judy climbed up and pulled her sidearm out to scan for hostiles. After not seeing a thing, she helped Nick up, who was out of breath.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah," He answered. "It's just the bomb, heavier than expected, you know?"

She nodded, rubbing his back, and walking with him to the command deck.

"Why are we going here?" Nick asked.

"Isn't this how to stop the ship?" She answered.

He shrugged, following her answer anyway. Reaching the command deck, there were more hostiles after kicking the door open. Nick immediately fired several rounds, while pushing Judy behind cover. Some of the enemies shot back, while only shooting the doorway next to him. One enemy stayed standing, and nick had to use Physical force to force him back, but he had his legs swept from underneath him, and fell to the ground. The attacker then ran to the steering wheel of the ship, tearing it from the mainframe, then using the wheel as a weapon on Nick. But before he could swing, Judy flew over him, sending a rabbit foot into his nose, knocking him unconscious.

"Damn, we can't just shut off the ship, what do we do now?" She said.

Nick stood up, then looked at the stairwell behind the door, then answered.

"We have to sink it." He said in a serious tone.

Judy then looked back and noticed the tall buildings of Zootopia gradually growing taller and taller.

"Hurry! Let's go!" She yelled, dragging Nick down the steps.

More hostiles were downstairs waiting for them, so they quickly fired more ammunition after reloading their magazine, but Judy felt her utility belt too soon.

"Nick, i'm almost empty…" She yelled over gunfire.

Nick fired back, hitting another target. He then walked up to the body of one of the hostiles, picked up their rifle, then handed it to Judy.

"Alright. Start picking up ammo." He said, and continued.

They reached the room with two large engines driving the entire ship, presumably holding about 4,000 horsepower. Nick was ready to set the I.E.D. , but thought for a second, then looked at Judy.

"Are we trying to sink it, or slow it down?"

She realized what would happen if they tried attacking the engine; yes, the entire system would stop, but the boat wouldn't. All the weight it's carrying would still coast it to the edge of Zootopia, where it could still take out hundreds of lives, let alone change thousands of others in the process. She looked at the I.E.D. in Nick's hands, then took it from him, while hitting the floor they walked on with the rifle she picked up.

"What are you doing?" Nick asked.

Judy stuck the I.E.D. to the ground, then set the charge to "Armed".

"We have about a minute and a half to get off the ship." She spoke, but the moment they were ready to leave, more troops ran through the door, this time showing several wolves, tigers, bears, and even raccoons. Nick and Judy were surrounded, and one of the hostiles spoke.

"Drop your weapons! Disarm the bomb, and surrender!"

Nick threw his pistol down, keeping his hands up, while Judy put her gun down, kicking it over, but they stayed still.

"Shut the bomb off!" The enemy yelled, but Judy yelled back in terror.

"We don't know how!"

The hostile then handcuffed them, pointing at another group to take a look at the bomb.

Another enemy started running down the stairs from outside ship, yelling, and covered in blood.

"S-sir! We have a problem!"

"What?!" He yelled.

"T-there's one of the savage victims! B-but he just-"

The victim was slammed against the wall by a very furious and rabid Miles. He began ripping and tearing into his chest with teeth that looked like they didn't even belong on him. Splats of blood flew into the air with entrails, the poor victim screaming "Mama" over and over again at the top of his lungs. The commander then yelled, pointing a finger.

"Fire!"

Gunfire blasted toward Miles, but he dashed away in time to take cover, screaming in a horribly modified voice.

"NICK! JUDY! RUN!"

They sprinted to the door as fast as they could, while being handcuffed. Manuvering up the steps, and back onto the deck of the boat, they ran to the front of the boat where the entire port of Zootopia could be seen, and Nick looked down, noticing the 50+ foot drop into water.

"We have to jump, Judy!" Nick yelled. But before she could reply, a deep boom could be heard, and the straining and groaning of steel, slowly tilting itself farther up into the air. Nick wrapped his handcuffed arms around Judy, holding onto her as if it were their last moment on earth. Judy held her eyes shut, enclosing herself into Nick as the cold air rushed into them. Nick leaned against the railing, trying to keep the balance steady as they both tried not to cry. Judy then looked up, placed her paws on Nick's cheeks, kissing him deeply. Nick kissed back, holding her closer than ever before, wishing that this was what they wanted if they made it out alive in this awful-scenario. They then looked into eachothers eyes, and electricity could be seen between them. With Nick staring deep into Judy's amethyst eyes, and Judy looking deep into Nick's emerald eyes. They hugged once more, and they both felt their fur spike as they said those words.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Judy looked down the now half sunken ship, and someone being run toward them on two legs, then transferring to four, sprinting even faster.

"M-Miles!" Judy said through tears.

He sprinted as more explosions from the gas pipes beneath them went off, and screamed in the voice he never had.

"Hold on tight!"

They hugged each other as tight as possible, and Miles dove into the two, tackling them into the water below, and splashing like a huge cannonball. Nick and Judy knew they couldn't swim because they were handcuffed, but Nick remembered how Miles couldn't swim. So he closed his eyes, and relaxed. Assuming this was the end for all three of them.

But even through the pain, blood, bullets and weight, Miles dragged them both up, keeping their heads above water, roaring from the amount of energy he was putting out. The crazy thing was, through the entire time he was shot with that needle, and to when he attacked the boat, he was Savage this entire time. But the only reason why he didn't let it consume him was unknown to even himself. It could have been just willpower, or his immune system was too much, or maybe it was genetics. At the time not even Nick or Judy cried, because all that mattered was they weren't being ravenously torn apart like he thirteen other victims on the boat.

He swam to the shore, dragging them both by their cuffs, still keeping their heads above water. He dragged them through the sand, clay, and dirt that was on the beach of Zootopia, still growling from the adrenaline and modified dosage of Savage. He lied them down on their sides, covered in salt water, sand, and underwater kelp that clinged onto them. Judy coughed up water, eventually sputtering, and lying on her stomach, while Nick was gasping for air, and asking Miles a question.

"I… thought you couldn't swim…"

Miles didn't pay attention to what he said. He slowly walked, then fell to his knees, as he felt this rush of fury leave his body. He crawled, and let out a bone-chilling howl, then fell to his side, almost unconscious.

Judy crawled over with Nick, and began tearing his vest off.

"Miles! Miles!" She pleaded, but she tore off the kevlar vest, revealing several open wounds releasing blood. Miles began to shake after the cold air touched his bare bloody chest. Nick reached into his pocket, and pulled out an antibiotic wipe, cleaning his chest and beginning to quiver from the touch of death.

"I-i think i grew m-my tail back…" he uttered, trying to flex his full tail. Nick was surprised, assuming the serum helped re-grow his full tail.

"You're gonna make it, captain!" Judy said, trying to keep him conscious, but he was losing too much blood to stay even half conscious.

Nick continued to clean, and spoke to Judy.

"Had me another wipe!" He tried to keep using the same wipe, but growled out of stress. "So much for fucken' 48 hours…" He said, thinking about Carrie; the one that got away.

Judy quickly reached into her aid-pouch, and pulled out gauze and a pain-killer powder. Nick continued to wipe his chest and stomach, and over time, the blood eventually stopped flowing, but Miles gripped onto Nick's forearm, then looked into his eyes as he stopped cleaning him.

"N-Nick…" He mumbled through his teeth.

He leaned in closer, looking for the answer in him. But he didn't say anything. Instead, he reached into the pocket of his vest shaking, and slowly pulled out the keychain they gave him, carrying the Emerald, the Sapphire, and a new item on it. He shoved it into Nick's palm, and rolled it into his fingers, looking deep into his eyes as he spoke.

"Give her everything you've got…"

Miles then slowly leaned his head back, his eyes halfway open, motionless. Death had taken his toll, leaving this new face who had seen the good side of a friendly city, to nothing more than an empty shell.

Nick and Judy were both silent for the next ten seconds, and the fact that he was gone for good hit them. Judy slowly lied his head down, wiping tears away as she stood up. Nick stood in unison with Judy, still looking back down at Miles. Judy pulled her attention away from the body in front of them, and looked past nick, into the horizon that led past the river, over the hills of sahara square, and admired the bright orange and yellow beams of sunlight shoot through the blue tinted sky. The same shades the day she drove with him. Nick remembered the amount of times they fought for Judy's safety. All the physical encounters they had worked together, along with the emotional connections they made with their pasts. He then looked at the item in his hand, revealing the keychain that held the emerald and amethyst gem. But a third piece was added, revealing an I.D. tag. This tag didn't have his name, age, or blood type, but it had two other names on the back with the title, " _Family"._

"Nicholas Wilde, and Judith Hopps." Nick read aloud.

Judy noticed the tag as well, and hugged Nick again, wrapping her cuffed arms around him and holding him close.

One week was all it took to set everything back in tune once the clearance of the SV2 raid was taken care of. Both Nick, and Judy were promoted for their bravery, and a ceremony was given to them for busting one of the most dangerous raid-events in Zootopian history. Respectively, Chief Bogo made a funeral, followed by a memorial for the death of Miles. Nick and Judy both had fallen in love with each other more than ever, but also respected the loss of their fellow squadmate, by proving that they were both what each of them always wanted. Nick learned how to hack for the safety of others, and Judy created a community garden for the younger animals of Zootopia. Carrie was notified of the loss of Miles, and was never heard from again. Judy and Nick also started a petition to support separate species marriage, and won the vote with over ten thousand signatures. Beyond that, they took more steps, trying to make the world a better place, but this time, together.

***AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS***

I thank any viewer who was willing to follow this story over the course of about 7 months as i wrote. I enjoyed doing this when i had free time, and I'm willing to do it again if you would like me to. Obviously, without the trace of this "New Character", but still, i enjoy doing this. Please leave a review for the overall view on this story. Thank you.


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